Orange & Blue
by The Unfortunate Gentleman
Summary: This story follows Fox and Krystal through their relationship. Rated T for some explicit (hanky-panky) scenes and steaminess. Also, there's some pretty graphically described violence. If you are bothered by sex, please skip chapters 10 & part of 15. Please leave reviews for each chapter, as it helps me know that people actually read my stories and enjoy them.
1. Loss of Life

Fox watches from the safety of his brick cover as Krystal is shot almost to pieces, the cruel hand of fate guiding the bullets ripping through her. Her eyes are wide open, and they're focused on Fox, Imploring him to do something to save her, anything. Her mouth is ajar in a silent scream, her flailing hands grasping for something, anything, to defend herself with aside from the spent rifle. She falls to the ground, sending up a large cloud of dust to the heavens."NO!" Fox screams, every fiber of his being tearing, his very mind shattering right then. It would shatter more in the following seconds.

Four ape soldiers, vicious criminals of the Lylat System, run over her lifeless body, exchanging insults and curses with each other. "We killed Mcloud's bitch! HAH!" They laugh.

Fox watches them with pure hatred, his blood boiling. Tears fall from his eyes. _They killed her they killed her shes dead shes dead god no I loved her god why_ , Fox thinks, his mind unable to process Krystal's death. He raises his rifle and fires several shots at the soldiers. The first's head explodes in a brilliant fountain of blood, brains and bits of helmet.

The second is punched off his feet, and the next bullet bullet obliterates his lungs, dealing him a gasping, slow death. The other two soldiers wheel around, looking for where the shots came from, rattled by the death of their comrades.

"Get the fucking sniper!" The commanding officer shouts. "Siryes-" The other tries to say but his vocal cords, and his entire neck, erupt into a mangled mess.

Fox grins like a madman as he pulls back the bolt, ejecting the shell casing. "I've got a bullet with your name on it, you- you motherfucking murderer!" He yells as he ducks back behind his cover.

The commanding officer is terrified. He shoots wildly at Fox, blowing indentions in the brick cover, red dust puffing from each dent. Fox loads in one last bullet. It's got orange daubed on the tip, and some rubbed off warning symbols. He shoots, and before the soldier can react, his his innard are blown all over the surrounding landscape.

As Fox's adrenaline-fueled rage dies down, he realizes that Krystal is dead. _I-I- I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life- god why why_ "WHY!?" Fox screams at the heavens. He runs over to Krystal's broken and bloodied body, moving even more frantically than during the Aperoid's assault on Cornaria. Fox drops to his knees, picks up her hand, and checks the vein for a pulse, but to his despair and heartbreak, there's none.

"Please God, gods, goddesses… Give me a sign… Please? Anything!" Fox whimpers, begging both his God and Krystal's gods and goddesses for a miracle, anything, to bring her back. He sits there hands clasped in prayer, hoping to any listening god that his bootless cries don't fall upon the deaf ears of heaven. As he waits, his headset beeps.

"Hey, Fox, fuzzball, what's up?" Falco crackles through Fox's headset.

"I should have done something. Falco why didn't I do anything?" Fox asks, his voice a dull lifeless tone, contrasting with his usual intensity and upbeatness.

"Fox, is something wrong? I'm your academy buddy, you can talk to me." Falco says, a slight scoffing attitude in his voice.

"Krystal is dead! They killed her!" Fox half screams-half sobs into the headset, startling Falco out of his regular sarcastic but sincere mood.

"Uhhh.. F- Um- Shit…" Falco stutters, still shocked at Fox's outburst of pure, unadulterated emotion.

"It's my fault! It's my fault that she should have left! I've got nothing to live for!" Fox sobs, his voice cracking.

"Fox, I'm coming over to you right now, I'll pick up Peppy and Slippy along the way." Falco chokes out, shaken by the death of a comrade, and saddened by Fox's loss of the vixen that made life worth living for him.

Fox picks up Krystal's head and gently strokes her hair. He scratches her behind the ear like she liked to have it scratched, and weeps the whole time. He hums a song to himself, one she taught him, one of the few things she had left of her world. It's a Cerinian song. It saddens Fox to never hear her voice, to never, again feel her touch on his skin. He skims his hand over her fur, it's slight feel against his hand comforting him. But the memories rushing through his head are too much.. He closes her eyes. _Krystal, I don't want you to see this_. He thinks. Still humming, he unholsters his sidearm and puts it to his head.

BLAM


	2. Comforting Words

"GGGHHHHHAAAGHH!" Fox screams, tearing off the sheets and rolling out of the bottom bunk of the bed. He crashes to the floor, waking up Krystal, who yipes loudly.

"Goddesses, what're you so riled up over?" Krystal groans, frustrated to be woken up so suddenly. She looks down at Fox's meek and trembling form and instantly softens.

"Oh, Fox, are you okay?" Krystal sympathetically asks, her muzzle curling into a smile.

Fox whimpers, his face buried in his hands. Krystal can't figure out why Fox is acting like this, and if it weren't for her abrupt awakening, she'd have simply read his mind. Since the last mission, in which they were cleaning up some pirate forces left over from the Lylat Wars, Krystal was almost shot down. Not a big deal, she thought, Falco, Slippy and Pepper were always in danger, sometimes even shot down or injured. But Fox was the team leader, and he took it all in step, a constant intense presence throughout their missions, and their recoveries. After that mission, though, he'd seemed more bottled up and reserved than normal.

"Fox, please answer me. I can't figure what's wrong if you don't talk to me." Krystal inquires, her voice sweet as honey.

"K-Krystal -p-please don't die- come back.. I n-n-need you!" Fox whines, overwhelmed by the intensity of his nightmare.

Krystal eases herself down to the floor, and pulls Fox's hands away from his face.

"Fox.. I'm still here." She murmurs to him.

"Krystal?!" Fox says in surprise. He's stopped from saying anything else by a kiss, sweet and passionate.

They separate their muzzles, and Krystal smiles at Fox, her smile giving him new life. He still whimpers but he's assured of her well being.

"Krystal, I dreamt you died. I-I need you to promise me something." Fox says, his voice shaky.

"Anything for you, Fox." Krystal replies, her eyes glinting with intelligence and beauty.

"Promise me that you won't put yourself in harms way." He says, suddenly serious, yet his voice still shakes.

"Ah, Fox, I'd never do that." Krystal giggles, and implants happy thoughts into Fox's thoughtstream.

"I've been worrying about you getting shot down, and in my dream tonight, you- you- YOU DIED! And I was there but I couldn't do anything!" Fox yells, crying even harder than before, tears streaking down his fur, dripping onto his chest.

"Fox, I'm here, I'm alive! Sshhhh…" Krystal says, whispering as she pulls the sobbing vulpine onto her lap. She rubs him on the white streak in on his head, and he starts to pur happily. He reaches for Krystal's hand, and she holds him, slowly losing him to sleep.

Krystal sighs. _He's so worried. Bloody Nexarus, I hope this doesn't come and bite me in the arse like everything else in my life does._

She falls asleep with Fox on the floor, resting her head on his chest fur. It's a natural, warm and loving pillow. _Mmmm…. He's so soft.._ Krystal thinks as she sleeps.

 _I hope she never dies I love her and I'll do anything to stay with her_. thinks Fox, in a deep, sweet sleep, curled up with his head in the lap of his favorite vixen in the Lylat system, no, his favorite vixen the the whole universe.


	3. Troubles

Krystal wakes up and yawns, also waking up Fox, who immediately jerks away, thinking he's involved himself too intimately with Krystal.

"Krystal! I don't know what got into me I… Uh…" He stumbles, his face a bright red, visible under his fur.

"Uuuahhhh!" Krystal yawns, and Fox nervously looks at her, hoping she won't be mad at him for what he thinks happened last night.

"Fox, I helped you fall asleep, my poor little Foxy tyke had a nightmare." Krystal says, giving Fox an assuring look.

"So… We didn't- Um.. Er.. Have…" Fox stutters, still worried.

"No Fox, we didn't do what you think we did." She purrs, and gets up, leaving Fox to his own devices.

Fox sits on the floor, hoping above all that this doesn't happen again. Someday I'm going to lose myself to my instincts and not remember it Probably anyway he thinks, still worrying over his predicament. He and Krystal had only met a couple months ago, and though they'd immediately hit it off with each other, as Fox liked Krystal, and vice versa.

Fox was still very much uncomfortable about being too intimate with Krystal, not wanting to introduce sex into their healthy relationship. Krystal seemed to have other ideas, but she was much less bound by Cornarian customs.

Oi, Foxy, come on and suit up, and don't forget your scarf. Krystal says to Fox through her psychic powers. Really, she was more of an empath, but could still communicate with other through her thoughts, especially Fox. mostly because they had shared the experience of saving Sauria together, and even then she had been able to strongly connect to him.

In a sec Krystal I'm still waking up Fox thinks.

I'm getting all dressed up for work, Fox. Remember, we're flying a mission today, but it's a pretty small one. Krystal thinks, instantly sensing Fox's worry and discomfort.

Fox gets up, and goes to the bathroom to shower, forgetting that he shares the room. He walks in, and goes to pick up his fresh change of clothes laying on the counter, next to his side of the twin sinks.

"EEP!" Krystal jumps, stepping out of the shower, thankfully covered by a towel. Even though she's covering herself, her legs are uncovered, giving Fox an unimpeded look at her thighs.

"Good God! I-I'll just take my clothes and go." Fox quickly says, and leaves, grabbing his uniform. And before Krystal can say anything, Fox leaves, closing the door behind him.

"I'm going to ruin this…" Fox says to himself, blushing all over, now even more embarrassed.

He puts on his undershirt and pants, admiring just how good he looks in the reflection on the window. He then slips on his jacket, and his scarf. He slides into his boots last.

Krystal steps out of the bathroom, garbed in her uniform, the same as Fox's, sans scarf.

"Well, I'm all suited up, Fox. No need to get your knickers in a twist." She says, sticking her tongue out. "But I am going to go get a nip to eat, want to join me?" She asks as she walks out of the room, pausing in the doorway.

"Sure, I'll go get dumbledang fruits and some pancake batter." Fox replies, walking with her.

"So.." Krystal says nervously. "I want to.. Oh gods this is going to sound so bad… I want to share a bed." She blurts out, throwing aside her regular formality

"Uhhhhh.. God, let me think about it." Fox says, uncomfortable about sharing a bed with her.

She really does want to Thinks Fox, both extremely excited but scared about what it might bring.

"I hope I don't sound too.. Lusty. I just want to help you, Fox." Krystal whimpers, afraid that this one sentence might have severed all hope of Fox ever being with her.

"I don't want to do that, Krystal, I'm sorry." Fox says, sounding repulsed.

"Fox, please…" Krystal pleads. She whines loudly at him, acting completely out of character.

She really is serious about this Fox thinks.

"I don't want to ruin our relationship." Fox says, now very much worried for Krystal.

"Fox.. I just want to share a dream with you…" She whimpers again.

"So you don't want to..?" Fox says as Krystal buries her face in his shoulder, pressing him near., "Krys, lets go get breakfast- together." Fox soothingly says, scratching her behind the ears.

"S-Sure, Fox." Krystal says, still firmy latched onto Fox.

"C'mon, I'll indulge this one time, lets try it." Fox says, a sweet smile slowly unfolding across his muzzle.

"R-Really?" Krystal whines, her hair disheveled from nuzzling against Fox.

"I mean it." He says firmly. She quickly hugs him, thankful that they can share the unique Cernian experience of connecting dreams.

Falco, Peppy, and slippy sit at the table, waiting for Fox and Krystal to arrive.

"All I heard was some of them dang yellin noises. I wonder what in sam hell they're doing up there." Peppy says in his southern drawl.

"They're probably hitting each other or something." Falco sarcastically remarks.

"F-Falco shut up." Slippy says, annoyed with his irreverent attitude.

Fox and Krystal come down the stairs, and Krystal lets out a little whimper, but Fox kisses her on the cheek.

"Oh, is the job getting to you Fox? A little soft, aren't you?" Falco scoffs.

"Shut your piehole, sonny." Peppy snaps.

Krystal walks over to the fridge and opens it. She opens it and looks inside, searching for something edible "Fox, would you like pancakes or just some fruit?" She says.

"I'll take the fruit, but I'll make the pancakes." Fox replies.

"Everything you say sounds cheesy, Fox." Falco says.

"I said shut your piehole!" Peppy grumbles. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!"

"Don't be too hard on him, he's just like that." Fox says, in a good mood.

"W-What was a-all that noise up there, Fox?" Slippy asks.

"What do you mean, slippy?" Fox says, puzzled with his question.

"Well, there was all that whining from upstairs." He says.

Fox blanches. "Um.. Ah.. What's the mission about again?" He asks, changing the subject.

"W-Well, I've made changes to some of the arwings…" Slippy says, but he keeps his previous thoughts. Seeing Krystal looking so stressed and disheveled makes him think even more on it.


	4. Down in Flames

They flew far above the infantry, and if you looked down it was as if hundreds of ants were moving in formation.

"All ships check in!" Fox yells into the headset.

"Worry about your own hide, Fox!" Falco grumbles.

"I'm all right." Peppy remarks.

"S-Same here." Slippy says, his voice cracking.

"About bloody time. I'm ready for some action." Krystal says, an eager tone in her voice.

A gruff voice interrupts their regular preparations. "Awright, flyboys, you're gonna be supporting my boys on the ground in an assault on the enemy ground base. You will follow my orders, understand?"

"To say the obvious, sir, this is my team. You did not hire me. I take commands from myself, and the same goes for my wingmates." Fox replies in an intense and commanding way.

The infantry commander splutters, angry over his limited command. One of those guys that served in the Lylat Wars, and For a moment he thinks about what he'll do when there's no more fighting to do. Don't think about that. he shakes his head.

"Turn off the communication channels to the infantry commander." He says.

"Fox, enemy fighters coming in from the right!" Slippy yells.

From this distance, Fox can see The enemy fighters, old halbirds and vipers, scavenged from the ruins of Andross's failing army. "Get yourself moving, Fox!" Krystal yells, taking off after a cluster of vipers, bullets already wizzing towards them.

A detachment of Halbirds zip towards Fox, and he pulls evasive maneuvers, barrel-rolling and braking, trying to get behind the bogeys with tactical movement. "Get it in fucking gear Fox! They're on your tail!" She says

"Why is it that I'm always the first one to get bogeys on my tail?" Fox grumbles.

"Oh, Fox you've always had an attractive rear. I caught Falco staring' once." Krystal yips.

Fox pulls up hard on the arwings flight-stick, jerking forwards, the g-force pressing him back in into his seat. "Slippy, Falco, on me!" Fox growls, trying to fight off the small swarm of fighters on his tail. Falco and Slippy, fending off fighters from attacking the ground troops, respond. "That's a negative, Fox, can't you tell I'm busy?!" Falco caws, irate.

"I'm on y-you!" Slippy ribbits, zooming into the swarm of fighters pursuing Fox.

The swarm lights up with sparks and explosions as bullets tear into their fragile frames, most exploding into scrap and red mist. "Thanks, Slip!" Fox says, relieved.

"Shit! Fighters on your left!" Slippy screeches.

Fox looks to the left to and is met with the cracking of glass and the sparking of machinery. Sparks crackle across the control panel. He tries to pull up, but he's given a strong electric shock, throwing him back in his seat. As he recovers from the shock, He feels something warm dripping down his chest, and looks down. His eyes widen and he sees a gaping wound blown through his jacket, his chest leaking bodily fluids.

"Fox!" Slippy yells. "It's Fox! He's d-down!" He croaks to his teammates thru the headset.

Krystal is the first one to respond. "Fox! Where is Fox!?" She asks, yelling frantically, fearing the worst.

"Over where I am, look at your radar." Slippy says.

"Godspeed, Krystal!" Peppy hollers.

"Oh gods and goddesses!" Krystal curses, seeing Fox's arwing plummeting from the sky, spouting smoke. She tries to connect to his mind, but gets only pain and flashes of what looks like an older Fox wearing sunglasses. "FOX!" She howls.

As His arwing crashes into the ground, Fox vomits, spewing bile all over his cockpit. "Krys.. I'm here…" He mumbles into his headset, and this only further drives Krystal to get to him quicker.

"Fox…" She whines, fighting back tears, to maintain her warrior image in battle. A warrior shows no emotion in battle. And you are both a warrior and a priestess, she thinks.

Fox holds his hand on his wound, staunching the blood flow. Now I'm not bleeding, I Can sit tight until Krystal comes, he thinks. But as the seconds tick by, copious amounts of blood leak from his wound, and he upchucks again from the sheer amount of blood he's losing. Fox screams and whines, calling out for her in pain, and Krystal listens in horror to his coughing, hacking, and screaming. I'm helpless right now. I really am, Krystal thinks solemnly.

She lands her Cloudrunner and opens the cockpit, each moment an anxious it to open. The moment it does, she jumps out, lands on her feet, and runs to Fox's crashed ship. As she nears, the twin smells of blood and vomit reach her nose, and she recoils in disgust.

Mustering her courage and steeling herself for the sight ahead, She inches forward, and fearfully peers inside the cracked cockpit. She sees Fox, covered in blood and bile inside, and being that there is no way for her to get to Fox she raises her hand, praying to the dual gods of strength and love. Bringing her hand down on the protective cockpit glass, smashing a ragged hole into it.

"FOX! Wake up!" Krystal yelps, and reaching inside, pulls him out of the wreck She checks him for a pulse and then checks his chest for breathing. "Fox! FOX!" She plaintively cries to him. She suddenly remembers the defilibrator his arwing is equipped with. She rushes to Fox's arwing and looks inside, finding it quickly. Krystal snatches it up and hurries to Fox's unmoving body.

Take paddles and rub together until the desired amount of static electricity has been reached, Krystal read off the defilibrator She gently takes in her hands the paddles and vigorously rubs them together, building up a static shock.

She presses them to his chest and he starts to spasm wildly, his eyes popping open and his hands wildly grasping in the air, twitching, his whole body shaking.

"U-U-U-H-H-H-U-U-U-U-U!" He shakily shouts, each new shock cutting up his yell.

Krystal flings the defilibrator away to the side, and grabs Fox, feeling his chest rise and fall, satiating her desires with the soft, warm fur, and the hard feel of muscles of her tod, thus assuring her that he's alive. "Krystal, I-I love you." He says, and then he faints.


	5. Unreleased

Krystal cried her eyes out that night, plagued by nightmares. And with Fox in the sickbay, unable to be with her, they were even worse. That night she awoke feeling for Fox's warm body beside her, but he's not there, and she sobs into her pillow, waiting to fall asleep.

She's tormented with another nightmare, this time she's attending Fox's funeral.

"Fox?!" Krystal shrieks as she wakes up, her scream echoing throughout the hallways of the ship. The clanking of boots down the hallway alerts her to Peppy, in his regular fatherly way, checking on her. Peppy had taken to being the parental figure to most of the crew, and a father figure to both her and Fox.

As Peppy walks into Krystal's room, he gives her a kind smile.

"Krystal, I told you that Fox was gonna be fine." He says.

"I know… But I-I love him…" Krystal sniffles.

"Well, that explains a lot of what's happened." He'd guessed that they were in a relationship since they'd started sharing a room. "I hate to be blunt, but have you two had sex?" Peppy asks, and Krystal blushes from embarrassment.

"We were going to share a bed tonight." She mewls.

"So this is the farthest you've gone with him?" Peppy inquires.

"Peppy, I don't want to talk about it…" Krystal says, on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

"Fox's mother was the same way, whenever James flew a mission she'd be worried sick about him. Once he got hurt during a mission and she wanted to do nothing but sit in the house locked in her room. It took me a couple hours to comfort her- Through the door of course." Peppy says, almost to no one in particular, his eyes looking past Krystal and into his memories. He snaps out of it. "Of course, she was fine after that. A couple days later, she had Fox."

"Fox says his father talks to him when he's proud of him." Krystal whimpers, tearing up.

Peppy sighs. "I worry about him, he might be pardon my language: bunked in the brain."

"What do you mean 'bunked in the brain'?" Krystal asks, suddenly puzzled over the saying.

"He's got something wrong with him, Krystal. Regular people don't talk to their dead father." Peppy groans.

"Don't say that about Fox!" Krystal snaps, snarling in defense of her tod, her man.

She suddenly feels an almost overwhelming wave of anger and- Some other feeling. A foreign feeling. She focuses this immense anger towards peppy, the poor old hare, against her better judgement.

"Just pointing it out in case it ever comes up." Peppy grumbles, and starts to walk out of the room.

"HE'S FINE! HE IS NOT CRAZY OR 'BUNKED IN THE BRAIN'!" Krystal vehemently screams, at Peppy, startling him.

"Son, lord and ghost a' mighty! Get a hold of yourself." Peppy curses.

He opens the door and steps out to do whatever he does during the wee hours of the morning.

 _I'm so numpted off. I need to work off some of this.. Steam, or whatever kind of warmth I kind of feel building up._ Thinks Krystal.

Krystal gets up out of bed and grabs her sweatpants and tank top from the closet. She puts them on, admiring her muscle definition in the standup mirror in the corner. Walking to the gym area of the Great Fox, she wonders if Fox really is 'bunked in the brain', as Peppy so rudely put it. She jogs to the equipment locker and looks over the weapons inside; her staff, a pistol, and an assault rifle.

 _I'll use my staff, I need more practice with it._ Krystal thinks. She picks it up and immediately sets about to bashing around the punching bag, and mid-swing, she feels that unknown feeling again, gasping. She readies another swing, unperturbed by the feeling, but then she gets a surge of it, and she falls to her knees, driven by the same alien feeling. "Gods preserve me!" She gasps. "I feel so… Different." she whispers. She puts her muzzle in the air and sniffs hard, smelling Fox, but this time, his scent brings that feeling back, but stronger. Her instincts beg her to go to him and release them, and she obeys those instincts.

BLANG BLONG KLANG

"For Godsakes, stop banging around in there!" Fox shouts, rubbing his eyes.

The noises abruptly stop.

"Uuughhh…"Fox groans.

"Foxxxx..." Someone hisses from the shadows, frightening him.

"W-Who's there?" He fearfully asks.

A vulpine shape slinks through the shadows, and Fox catches only a glimpse of an almost-sadistic grin and green eyes.

 _Oh fuck an assassin shit shit shit what do I do_ , he thinks.

"I'm going to enjoy this." The figure swathed in shadow says. They bare their fangs, teeth glinting in the moonlight. As they move forward, Fox makes out a flash of blue fur. Krystal? "Krystal, is that you?" He says.

"Fox, I neeeeed you.." Krystal says, almost moaning as she speaks. She steps from out the darkness.

Fox's heart skips a beat, and he tries not to stare at her curvaceous body. But she's wearing some rather form fitting gym clothes. She looks very hungry, not for food, but for something different. She growls, startling Fox. "Krystal, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He asks.

"I've never felt so.. Strange, Fox, I need you in a way I've never known." She says, seductively swaying her hips as she walks towards Fox.

Fox blushes, suddenly understanding. "I don't want this to happen, Krystal. I really don't."

"I-Is that what I feel? I just know that I need to be near you, I can see you through the wall. Your smell just makes me feel so wonderful." She says. "Can we just.. Be close?"

"Ohhh… You're in heat, Krys. It makes sense." Fox says, a little scared of what would happen if she lost control of herself.

She slowly slides up to Fox, easing close to him, sniffing the air. "I want to be near to you. I want to lay with you.." She draws in a shuddering breath. Inch by inch, she slides into the sickbay bed, and sniffs in Fox's scent. She moans with delight at just being this close to the one vulpine she can't get enough of.

"Krystal, please don't..." Fox says, put off by her sudden moan. But he still wraps his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"I've never been with another fox, or any man, for so long." Krystal murmurs.

"I've never been with anybody this long either." Fox says.

"I needed something to hold onto after what happened… At first it was to try and regain a semblance of a regular life, but then I was trapped, and all the things, and you." She snuggles against his fuzzy face, saying; "This is the happiest I've felt since joining the team. I haven't had a sort of family to be able to rely on in a long time." She presses her snout against Fox's chest, drawing in a deep sniff of his musky smell.

"I needed someone to hold me down, reason with me, someone to stop me from fighting when the fighting ended. Krystal, I don't know how to do anything else but fight."

"Fox, do you want to- To settle down?"

He sighs. "I don't know krystal. I just don't know."


	6. Openness

Fox nuzzles his vixen with utmost love, the night they spent together in the sickbay bed would be unforgettable. Krystal purrs as she wakes up, batting her eyelashes at the orange vulpine. Despite Fox's injuries, he seemed to not be in any pain while she laid next to him and pressed against him. A matter of fact, both of them had slept the best since they were children. Fox hadn't been awakened by the screaming voices of people he'd killed, and Krystal hadn't wept in her sleep as she regularly did, though the reason for this was as she put it; "Private. Very private."

"So, little vixen, are you gonna get up, or are you just going to stay in bed and snuggle with me? Peppy or Rob- Probably Peppy, will be bringing breakfast. Personally, I'd like to get my own food, but 'You stay in bed sonny, or you'll hurt yourself even more!'" Fox jovially jokes, imitating Peppys southern accent.

"Fox, getting up is something only someone who isn't madly infatuated with their hunk of a tod would do."

"I'll take that as a yes." He laughs.

"We should have done this sooner."

He sighs, and licks Krystal on the nose. She lets out a little murr, rubbing her head against his cheek. "Fox, could you scratch me on that place behind my left ear? It feels heavenly when you do that."

He puts his hand on her head and commences to scratching behind her ears. She purrs like a bomber, her left leg kicking happily. Fox, for the first time in a good while, feels untroubled. He draws her in for a kiss, and she returns it, leaning into it, loving the feeling of Fox's lips against hers.

In steps Peppy, whistling the Cornarian anthem. He's carrying a tray of eggs and bread, along with a cup of something orangish in coloration. He isn't paying attention to them. He looks over at the bed, and sees Krystal on top of Fox, passionately kissing him. Peppy's annoyed, but at the same time happy to see Fox happy. Setting down the tray, he struts over. "And what is this?" He says.

Fox and Krystal quickly break away from their kiss, both looking as surprised as deer caught in headlights. "Peppy, we're just sharing a kiss." Fox says reassuringly.

"Right, nothing more than a kiss." Krystal says, backing him up.

"I don't want to have to clean those sheets. You know what I mean. Them stains are hard to get out of any kind of cloth." Peppy scolds.

Krystal slowly and carefully gets out of the bed, sliding away from Fox. She shoves past Peppy, grabs the tray, and ignores him as she brings it over to Fox.

When she puts it down for him to eat, she kisses him on the cheek, and he glows beet red under his fur, since Peppy's watching. Do you want to eat alone? She thinks.

No I'd appreciate the company He thinks, a grin gracing his face.

Fox sits up, and starts to eat. The orange liquid turns out to be orange juice, a rarity in recent years. He moves the tray onto the nightstand beside the bed.

"Peppy! How'd you get your hands on this stuff?" Fox exclaims.

"I pulled a few strings, got s'more of those dumbledangs too, since they've proved to be very viable as a cooking supply." Peppy answers, a slight smile creeping onto his features.

"Well, I've got to say thanks, I guess. What do you say Krystal?"

"Me? Many thanks for the orange juice and dumbledang fruits." She says, bowing slightly.

"I only wanted your opinion on whether I should thank him, Krys!" Fox laughs.

Peppy and Krystal look at each other and burst into fits of laughter as well. Fox grabs Krystal around the waist and pulls her down onto his lap. Peppy, unnoticed by the the two vulpines, sneaks out the room to grab a drink. She instinctively yips in fear but then realizes that it's Fox grabbing her and she eases onto him. His hand inches up and down her leg, but she moves it up to her head, and he scratches her behind the ear. She purrs contentedly, kicking her leg. She suddenly makes a kind of meeping noise. Fox tries to conceal his laughter at this, but he fails completely. Krystal looks at him and scowls.

"You make those noises too, we're both foxes, but mine are a little more- interesting."

"Oh, but yours are so much cuter." He lovingly says, pulling her in for a kiss.

"Well, If you insist," She says, giggling.

They lock their lips together, and Fox's tongue skims across her teeth. She wonders what he's doing. Suddenly, his tongue slips into her mouth and he starts to lick around it.. She gags at the feeling of her lovers tongue swirling around her mouth. She pulls away, and gives Fox a look of utter confusion. "What was that?" She says.

Fox blushes. "I honestly just did it because well.. That's what you do when you love someone."

"But why did you do that with your tongue? It was so.. Primal." Krystal says.

"I felt like you wouldn't mind. I'm sorry, Krystal."

She sighs. "If it's what your society deems as the norm for lovers, then," She shivers. "Lets try it again."

They again press their lips together, but Krystal's kiss seems dead and lifeless, lacking any enthusiasm. To Fox's surprise, she's the one who forces her tongue into his mouth. She starts to actually enjoy it, just doing what he did. Fox tries to force her tongue back, but she wraps it around his and licks all around, savoring every second. The look in her eyes is hard to describe, it's domineering but also loving and sweet. As they intertwine tongues, Krystal looks and sign of uncomfortableness on Fox's face, but he's enjoying it as much as she is..

She draws away, licking her chops, savoring the flavor of Fox's mouth. "Goddesses that was glorious!" She pants.

"What the sam hell did I just walk in on?" Peppy says as he walks back in.

Fox and Krystal turn red with embarrassment at being caught in their personal moment. They'd completely forgotten about Peppy being there.

"Well, you can testify in court if it comes to it." Fox chuckles.

"Yeah, the whole bloody thing, for Krazoa and country." Krystal purrs, looking intently at Fox.

"I love you Krysie."

"Me too, Foxy-Woxy."

"Foxy-Woxy?"


	7. Psychic Horror

It had started out normally. A regular base patrol contract. But then it all went to hell.

"ALL PILOTS GET TO THEIR SHIPS!" Screams the voice of the commander over the loudspeakers.

As the team runs down the hallway, bullets rip through the sides, blowing an unfortunate Papatoonian into red mist.

"FUCKING MOVE!" Yells Bill Grey, not his usual calm self.

"Oh my gods oh my gods oh my goddesses!" Krystal yells as a landmaster explodes outside the window.

"Keep moving! We have to provide air support to these guys! They're getting slaughtered!" Fox says.

Papatoonian pilots run alongside the Starfox team, armed guards escorting them. A venomian soldier bursts through a side wall, and is instantly peppered with several hundred rounds of ammunition. "ENEMIES IN THE BASE!" Screams the commander. Gunfire echoes through the hallway, accompanied with the clacking of casings falling on the ground. The sound is deafening. Fox and Krystal cover their delicate ears, and Falco simply draws his sidearm.

"C'mon, Fox, I thought you knew better than to cover your wittle baby ears." He mocks.

Fox shoots him a nasty look. "We all know as well as everyone else that the Arwings are in the hangar, which should be right down this hallw-" He's blasted off his feet, along with all the others in the corridor, by a powerful explosion. Falco's burning feathers put off a bright glow, illuminating the hallway in a macabre display.

"AUUAHH! PUT ME OUT!" He screams, rolling around on the ground. A young pilot tries to move his legs and can't. He panics. Some of the older ones pick themselves up, and help the young man to walk to a safer place. He's soon crying for his mother.

"Goddamn war. It'll scar all the young men until they're like me." Fox mumbles.

As his vision clears, he gets up he runs over to Falco, slapping his burning feathers to try and put him out. "Goddammit! War fucking brings out the worst in me!" He growls. Falco is put out, and he pats Fox on the back.

"For a good-for-nothing vulpine, you sure saved my ass." He amicably says.

"Oh shit, Krystal!" Fox shouts, remembering Krystal.

Krystal is crawling out of a small crater, which she threw herself into when the explosion happened. Fox sprints over to her, and helps pull her up. "T-Thank you so much.. She groans, feeling of her bruised arm. "Not the worst, but I doubt I'd be getting out of this crater anytime soon with the way my goddesses-damned eyesight is loopy-as Neraxus."

A fighter flies overhead, interrupting her. The whistling of bombs prompts the small group to get moving.

"ALRIGHT, YOU LOAD OF GUTTER-SNIPES! ONLY CHANCE IS TO GET TO THE AA GUNS! HOP TO IT! DO YOU WANNA LIVE FOREVER?!" Bill yells in a commanding tone, attracting the attention of his men.

All the Papatoonian pilots immediately start moving, disappearing around a corner in the hallway, and the Starfox team follows soon afterward.

"Keep your heads down and keep em' like that until until you reach the AA stations!" Fox yells, echoing Bill.

"Righto, Foxy." Krystal coolly says, loading her newly drawn pistol.

"Got it, shithead." Falco scoffs, wishing Fox wouldn't pay so much attention to Krystal.

"Great. both you idiots got it." Fox says gruffly.

The steady buzz of an autocannon alerts Fox to the AA guns activating. "YEAH!" He yells, pumping his fist in the air. Enemy aircraft burst into flames and explode, Falco and Krystal also cheering. Out of nowhere, Krystal starts to scream, flailing around as if on fire. The amount of suffering, violence and death, is taking its toll on her sensitive psychic mind.

She snaps out of it, but with a faded look in her eyes. Looking at Fox, she asks him for help.

"Fox, please, gods, God, and goddesses willing, to help me with mental resistance. How do you keep from breaking down out here?"

"Krystal I just- FUCK! SOLDIERS!"

"Watch out! They're firing at us and" She stops speaking, and falls to the ground, blood spurting from her face.

"I'M HIT! MY HEAD AHHHHHHHHHHHH, IT HURTS!" She raises her pistol, and fires at the muzzle flashes and laser points, ending one of the them in a collage of red splotches and orange sparks. The cacophony of combat starts to get to her, and she starts to fall into a deep sleep.

"Rise, Kursed, demon of Nexarus, rise in this vixen." A gravely voice chants in her mind.

She violently shakes, waking herself up, and she feels unhurt, her eyes glowing. She jumps up, and runs towards the enemy, pulling out her Cernian knife.

Fox yells for her to get back to cover, but she pays him no mind. She lets out a terrifying growl as she leaps forward, pouncing towards one of the enemy soldiers. His eyes stare at her through the visor in shock for a second, but he raises his assault rifle to meet her moving form, and he pulls the trigger, bullets impacting into the walls. She grins madly, and jumps in the air, somersaulting as she does so, and slices his neck. Blood sprays all over her, staining her face and uniform.

The five other Venomian troopers whip around to meet the new threat, and they all start to discordantly fire, bullets flying everywhere. One passes straight through her hair, and Fox watches in sheer terror as she brutally slaughters the soldiers. She dispatches two by smashing their heads together, exploding them like ripe fruit. The other three hold their ground, as Krystal uppercuts one, breaking his neck, body slams the other one, and then stabs him repeatedly, a sanguine rain falling over them. The last one whips out his sidearm and shoots himself, falling to the ground with a meaty thud.

Fox holds his mouth as Krystal steps towards him, the stench of blood strong on her. Once she gets too close for comfort, he vomits. "God.. The smell.. Oh God.." He groans. She looks at him with a psychotic smile, and he backs away. "What are you? Who are you?" He whimpers.

"I am legion.I am a warrior. I've proved myself to your team and to the demons and imps and devils!" She cackles, looking at Fox evilly.

Falco stares at Fox, and then at Krystal. Falco steps away from the pair, not wanting to be involved in what's going down.

"Krystal-" Fox gags "-Please get-" He heaves. "-Away from me."

"Come here." She says, continuing to walk towards Fox.

In a fit of nausea, he pushes Krystal away. She just stares at him, and then her face twists into a mosaic of hatred. She jumps at him, and socks him in the gut, and while he's recovering from that, she kicks him in the jaw. At this point, he's bleeding from several points of injury. Her eyes stop glowing with the power of a demon, and she realizes what she's done, and gasps. She's about to lift him up and apologize profusely for her brutal assault, but a shot rings out, and immense pain rockets through her shoulder.

"Cerinian traitor." Falco says.

Krystal grasps at her chest, and topples over, falling onto Fox.


	8. Deep Fears

Krystal woke up to the cold feel of handcuffs and the bright white lights of the brig. She couldn't exactly tell what had happened in the last few hours. It was all a blur of red and orange and the harsh bark of gunshots. Her face no longer hurt where the bullet grazed it, only a slight pinkness under her fur. She rubs her head, and tries to scratch behind her ear, but the handcuffs restrain her. She gets up, trips, and bangs her head on the side of the bed. She groans, and lifts herself up.

"Fox? Slippy? Anybody?" She calls out.

The automatic prison system responds. "This cell is soundproofed. Do not try to escape, as it will lead to your further injury."

"Damn you, bloody machine!" She grumbles.

"Time to employ some of those tricks about escaping Fox taught me in training." She grins, and cracks her knuckles, thinking about her first day on The Great Fox.

She spots a weak spot on the middle link of the chain in between handcuffs. Smashing them against the metal frame of the bed, she twists and turns to put more pressure on the chain. It breaks with a metallic pinging noise.

"This'll be good as my knife if it comes to protecting myself."

 _Vents, vents, vents. Where are the vents?_ She thinks. She spots a vent, and goes to work unscrewing it, using the bit of leftover chain on the right handcuff as a screwdriver. She flips into the vent, and while doing so, accidentally kicks the vent, causing it to land on the ground, making a loud metallic banging noise.

"Cell compromised. Requesting immediate assistance."

"Sheit!" Krystal whispers, as an alarm starts steadily wailing.

She belly crawls through the vents, eventually coming to another vent cover, which Falco is standing right under, his roving eyes and laser sight not noticing the blue vixen in the vent above him.

She kicks in the vent, and it smacks him on the head. While he's recovering, she right-hooks him, the handcuffs on her wrists acting as brass knuckles. Then she bashes him with the vent cover, rendering him unconscious. She huffs and pants, rolling her neck to relieve muscle stress. "And that-" She huffs, "-is for shooting me."

Something on Falco's belt buzzes.

"Fox here. Hey, I heard some noises on your communicator, are you okay?"

Krystal quickly picks it up and removes the batteries, then sticks them in backwards.

She hears footsteps from down the adjacent hallway, and picks up Falco's sidearm, firing off several shots in no direction in particular, throwing it down as she runs away.

Fox, hearing the shots, flings himself leans against the wall, and then storms out into the hallway where the gunshots came from.

"Nothing.." He says, lowering his weapon. He spots Falco, splayed out on the floor, unconscious.

A bit of blue fur is stuck in the vent grating, and Fox picks it up. "Krystal." He says, and a tear escapes from his suddenly wet eyes. He wipes it away, and focuses on tracking her, his powerful sense of smell leading him to her.

She runs into Fox and her's room, opening her allotted drawer and grabbing her combat uniform and tribal garb out of it. She also grabs one of Fox's shirts, holding it close for a second before stuffing it under her arm like the rest of the clothes she's carrying. She also grabs her other, more personal belongings. She remembers her staff, one of the only things from her home planet of Cerinia, and pads out the door. As she steps out, she sees Fox. She instinctively raises her ears and smiles, forgetting for a moment that she was in the brig a while ago.

"Krystal? STAND DOWN!" Fox yells, pointing his weapon at her.

"F-Fox?!" She mewls, his yell shattering her innocent composure.

She looks to her right and to her left, figuring out paths of escape. "Fox, I don't want to hurt you, if possible, I want to reconcile with you!" She says, smiling slightly.

"I SAID GET DOWN!" Fox yells, tring to put down his emotions for this traitor.

"SHUT UP, FOX! BLOODY LISTEN TO ME AND STOP THINKING WITH YOUR GUN YOU- YOU BASTARD!" She screams, and Fox is shocked for a moment. But he, still under the impression that Krystal is a traitor, yells out again.

"I'd hoped I wouldn't have to do this, Fox." She says as she delves deep into his mind.

Fox pulls down on the trigger, and closes his eyes.

Krystal rolls out of the way of his shots, running until she's behind him.

"I thought you were better than this, Fox." She says, unharmed by his barrage of lead. Grabbing ahold of his head, she sends him into a spiral of horrific images, his deepest fears. Fox's eyes pop open and his muzzle falls open, gaping and paralyzed in fear. He screams and falls to his knees, still screaming.

"COME BACK! PLEASE, KRYSTAL!" Fox shrieks, reaching out for her as she steps back, pulling out of his mind. Unable to see him in such a state, Krystal leans down and pulls him close, letting his muscular frame rest against her small but athletic one. As he leans against her, he starts to weep, tears dripping down onto the floor.

"Fox, I was going to leave…" Krystal whispers.

"Don't ever leave!" He whimpers, grabbing her tail.

Krystal yips, frightened. In Cerinian society, grabbing by the tail meant extreme lust for the grabbed, and she didn't want that. "Fox-Oooh..." She half gasps, half moans.

Fox, sensing something troubling her, leans up to pepper her neck with kisses and licks. She gasps at the feeling of his tongue on her fur, feeling so good, but leaving her fur slightly matted.

She isn't ready for this. She mentally freezes as Fox starts to lead her to their room. He rubs against her, and she shivers. "Are you cold Krys? Because you'll be pretty warm soon enough."

"N-No, I'm fine." Krystal says.

"You're so amazing." He says, giving her a quick peck her on the cheek.

As they enter their room, Krystal flings down the clothes she's been holding, and she starts to step away, but he leans her into a kiss, and as he kisses her, slowly reaches around and cups her buttocks. Rubs her supple behind, and she moans, that slight movement electrifying her body with immense pleasure, send her on a rollercoaster of emotions. completely unprepared for his actions. Still kissing her, he starts to lead her to the bed, laying her down.

"Fox!" She says, realizing what's happening.

"Krystal, I love you." Fox says, slowly slipping off her shirt.

She shivers, and closes her eyes, not trying to refute Fox's actions, or even touch him at all. He notices this and stops . "Krystal, baby, are you okay? You look scared." He says, not wanting to engage in such an intimate act as sex without her full consent. Her eyes are shut firmly, and he can feel her heartbeat.

"F-Fox.. I-I'm F-Fine." Krystal says, still shaking, her eyes shut, afraid that if she opened them, tears might leak out.

"You are not 'fine'." Fox says, lifting Krystal up into a sitting position. " Please, tell me what's wrong."

"I-I'm scared of what you'll do to me.." She whimpers, her eyes still firmly shut.

"Krystal, I never would have done this if you would've told me."

"B-But I'm a warrior, and a woman. I can take anything." She says, opening her eyes. Her bottom lip trembles, and she holds back tears of fear.

"I'd never judge you for something like that Krystal, I've got my own fears, too." Fox reassuringly says, giving Krystal a kiss on the neck.

"You'll hurt me! I won't be able to do anything!" She cries out, shaking.

"If you tell me to stop something, especially this kind of thing, I'll stop doing it. I don't want to hurt you." He lovingly purrs. "What scares you about- Y'know, sex?"

"F-Fox… I'm scared it'll hurt so bad and my- my womanhood will tear and bleed because of your.. Manhood." She says, now scared he'll try to force himself on her.

"I'd be gentle, Krys, I wouldn't hurt you." He says as he embraces her small form.

She screeches and shoves away from him, jumping off the bed, covering her more sensitive regions, even though she's still wearing her pilots uniform. As soon as she's on her feet tears start to well up and stream down her face, and reluctantly, she walks back towards Fox, and throws herself down on the bed, spreading her arms and legs, closing her eyes and preparing herself for the pain of her inevitable fate and the dominating growls of the orange vulpine.

Fox looks down at the crying vixen, completely submissive to him, and he lays down beside her, simply bringing her close to him, not engaging in more actions that might frighten or worry Krystal. She opens her mouth, mewling pitifully. "Just do it!" She cries.

"Shhh.. I'm never going to do it if you don't want to." He whispers to her.

"R-Really?" She says, her eyes still shut tightly.

"Please, Krystal, I just want to get some sleep." Fox groans, sore from the general chaos of the day.

She opens her eyes, and draws as close to him as is possible and whispers in his ear, her ears laying down, and her tail tucked between her legs, as if telling a great and shaming secret. "Fox, I'm a virgin."


	9. Brutality

Falco's eyes popped open as he awoke on the hard metal floor of the Great Fox, remembering the banging of metal and then something blue beating him in the head with a vent grating.

He gets up off his tailfeathers and looks around for any sign of his weapon, or Krystal, that crazy Cernian bitch. _Dammit, I should've known she'd break out. Now where's Fox?_ He thinks.

As he walks down the hallway, he spots bullet pockmarks. _Firefight? Maybe._

He comes upon scratches on the floor, as if somebody fell down and went to clawing.

 _Who won this scuffle?_

A multitude of bullets holes, and a large amount of Fox's fur. Falco looks at the area and winces at the thought of what might have happened. Slippy had been asleep the whole time, and this royally annoys Falco. He kicks the wall in frustration, the impact of his boot against the wall making a loud banging noise.

Krystal, sleeping lightly, is woken by the noise. She untangles herself from Fox's form, being careful not to wake him up. She softly pads out of the room, heading to where the noise was.

As she walks, she gets a strong whiff of something.

"Feathers? Oh! Gods, I forgot about Falco! I'll go and see if he's okay." After a bit of walking, she spots Falco kicking a wall. She walks up behind him and taps him on the shoulder.

He whips around, grabs her by the neck, almost crushing her windpipe. She gags, and tries to fight back, but Falco draws his fist back and punches her right on the tip of the muzzle, **hard** , making her nose bleed profusely.

"There you are! What'd you do to Fox?!" He yells fiercely. He lets go of the blue vixens throat, and she falls to the ground, muzzle agape, trying to catch her breath. "I said-" He kicks her in the ribs. "Where's Fox?"

"Stop, pleas-" She tries to say, but Falco kicks her again. She coughs up some blood, and it runs down her front, staining her shirt with brilliant red. "FOX! FOX!" She screams in pain, doubling over at the thought of another kick. "FOX! HEL-" She's kicked again.

"Faking, are you? Now, tell me the truth!" He thunders.

Krystal looks at him, and then at the pistol lying near him. Without a moment's hesitation, she picks it up and empties the magazine into his legs. "FOX!" She screams, even louder this time.

As Falco lies writhing in pain on the ground, Krystal drags herself away from the suffering avian.

She hits the pistol against the wall in an attempt to wake up Fox.

CRASH

Fox wakes up, reaching for Krystal, but she's not in bed beside him, a matter of fact, she's not even there. He groans. "God, please, one more hour.."

A clanging noise from outside the room fully awakens Fox. He sits straight up, and plods to the door. He opens it and comes out to see a tableau right out of his worst nightmares. Krystal lies facedown near a wall, pistol in her hand, the other slowly sliding down the wall, leaving a bloody, streaky handprint. Her muzzle is open, and her eyes are dead and staring. Falco is writhing nearby, his legs full of holes, one of them almost blown off at the knee. He's alive, but in pretty bad condition.

"No… Not this.. NONONONONONONO!" He yells, his voice cracking as he looks on in shock and sadness. He wishes that Peppy or Slippy, or even better, both of them, were there to help with tending to Falco and Krystal. As he looks at Krystal again, he's captured by that dead-eyed stare, his heart rate rising as he fears she's dead.

"Come and help me, dammit it hurts!" Falco caws.

"Oh fuck!" Fox barks. He rushes to Falco's aid, getting down on his level and stopping the bleeding with his jacket, which staunches his wounds.

"Thanks.. Now I've got a word to say about that Cernian bitch over there; she's a traitor Fox, I'd subdued her, but then she blasted me in the legs!"

"You did what?!" Fox says, now even more stressed. "What did you do to her?!"

"I grabbed, her, then punched her in the fucking muzzle, serves her right, traitor to the team. Then I knocked her down, kicked her in ribs a few times an-" But Fox interrupts him,

"You son of a bitch!" Fox yells in his face, seething with rage.

"She beat you into the ground without a second though! You still want to protect her? To 'love' her?" Falco says, spitting the word love.

"She's the only one left of her people!"

"What, fucking magical-asshole foxes? You've been paying more attention to her than to me just because she's fucking with you! I'm your old academy friend!"

" _She_ didn't leave the team for three long years because she got mad and threw temper-tantrum after we wouldn't take any bullshit morally bankrupt contract that came our way! It involved killing civilians, Falco, or should I call you a sadist? Of course, when you aren't wanting to do that, you're parading prostitutes in and out of your room" Fox growls, each word ringing true. "Now, sadist, I'm going to see if you've killed Krystal. If you did, I'm going to kill you in the most painful way I know."

Fox stops listening to Falco as soon as soon he starts talking again. Fox walks over to Krystal, and gritting his teeth, gently presses on her back. "S-Stop F-Falco… I'm going to go-" She hiccups. "-Get F-Fox.. He'll kick your arse into Neraxus.. I'd k-kill you myself but YOU'RE A BLOODY SICK PERSON YOU KNOW THAT!?" She screams.

"Krys, it's me.." Fox gently says.

"Fox! Fox! Never leave me please no I'll do anything kill him now please I want to mate with you!" She blurts out, the whole thing a huge jumbled mess of pent-up emotion. She then crawls into his strong arms, attracted to him like never before.

"Y-You want to mate?" Fox nervously responds.

"I don't know…" Krystal whines, feeling of her bruises and looking at her blood covered hands.

"Krystal, if you want to, I'll do it. I'll be gentle."

"Fox, I want to forget everything. I want to just mate and block out everything else, anything to stop the pain and oh goddesses my ribs, gods, my body hurts.." She nuzzles against him, and then violently hacks up blood onto his undershirt.

"Krys! God save us, what was that?" He says, wiping away the trickle of blood dripping down her chin.

"Fox, I d-don't feel too good.." She whispers, and grabs the back of his shirt, holding on tight. "It all hurts so bad…" Fox stands up, holding Krystal in his arms, and runs as fast as he can while carrying someone. He makes it to the sickbay. Once there, he presses the white 'call for help' buzzer, put there if anyone needed immediate medical attention. Rob-64 activates, rolling on treads from his respective place in the corner.

"What is your medical emergency?" Rob-64 asks.

"Just do something!" Fox yells.

"Your temperature and heart rate are rising. Do you require medical help?"

"No! Krystal does!" Fox frantically says.

"Lay patient name: Krystal on the examining table, please."

"Fox.. If anything happens to me, know that I want to be with you forever..." She says, and then passes out.

Fox lays her on the table, and a medical instrument pops out from Rob-64's arm. It's some kind of scanning device, since more primitive methods had been proven to injure the patients.

"Patient: Krystal has bruised skin, and one slightly cracked rib. I will be able to provide healing for the rib, but the bruising I am unable to heal without skin grafting, a rather desperate measures for such a minor injury. It will have to be left to heal over time by natural means." Rob says.

"So, she's okay? She's going to.. Live?" Fox asks.

Krystal's eyelids flutter, and she lets out a long, sad, whimper. "Where am I? Am I.. Dead?" She says, her voice catching.

"Krystal, you're alive, I'm here." Fox says.

She jumps up and off the table, slamming Fox to the ground, but before he can grunt or groan in pain, she mashes her lips against his. He tries to push her off, but she keeps him pinned down, kissing him savagely. As a last-ditch attempt, he pulls her tail. Hard. She yips, composure changing almost immediately. She stops pressing herself against him, and her entire body turns red under her blue fur. "Is it okay if we just go back to bed?" She asks, embarrassed.

"Yeah, Krys. Also, Rob, go get Falco and patch him up." Fox says.

"Directive confirmed: patient: Falco- Injuries?"

"His legs are shot to hell, that's all."

"Patient: Falco- Injuries- Bullet wounds- legs. Species- Avian."

Rob rolls off to Falcos location, beeping mechanically.

"Okay, baby, let's get to bed." Fox yawns, squeaking as he does so, making Krystal laugh.

"That was adorable, Fox." Krystal coos.

"I know."


	10. Broken Fear

Fox sits on the bed, reading a book about how space dynamics was founded. He'd found it in a box of his father's old belongings, and when he found out that that his father had also written and drawn in the margins, it became even more valuable to him, and he would pour over it for hours, writing down notes on it and thoroughly copying down each and every one of his father's notes.

In the midst of one of these sessions, Krystal walks in, a pensive look on her face. She walks up and sits down beside him. "Fox, we need to talk." She says sternly.

"Oh, hey Krystal. What's wrong?" Fox says, smiling broadly. He bookmarks the page that he's on, and puts the book back on the shelf.

She frowns."It's very serious, stop joking around."

"Okay…?" Fox replies.

"Fox, I'm worried!" She says, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders.

"Krys, what?"

"Fox, I need help! How do you do it? How do you stay so- so- stalwart?"

"God, Krystal, I didn't expect this to come up." He says, running his fingers through her hair. He tries to give her a friendly, loving kiss, but she shakes him off.

"I don't need to 'cuddle' or 'snuggle it out'!" She yells.

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" He says, exasperated.

She growls, and looks at one of the corners of the room. "There's one now! It-It's my mum.." She says, starting out angry but ending almost on the verge of tears. "The dead from Cernia keep talking, it's not people I killed, but people I love, people I knew from my world." She keeps talking about Cernia, and Fox can tell that she's going to break down if he doesn't intervene with another topic.

"Krystal, did your planet have crystals?" He cuts in, realizing how dumb asking Krystal if her planet had crystals.

She pauses, to think about what he said, and she giggles through her tear-filled eyes."Yeah. Why'd you ask, Fox?"

"Were they kind of big and purple, with blue tones and yea big?" Fox says, moving his hands to indicate the size of the crystal.

"It's all those things, Fox, but why are you asking?"

"Because we found one."

Krystal suddenly grins, her tail wagging, ears standing straight up. "I know it's kind of rude of me to ask, but.. Can I see it?" She says, curious.

"Anything for my vixen princess." Fox says, standing up. He holds out his hand and Krystal takes it, excited to see the crystal. The pair walk hand in hand to the storage bay, talking all the while.

"Now this crystal is only the second most beautiful on the ship." He says flatteringly.

"You've got two?" Krystal asks.

"Krys, the most beautiful one is you, the first crystal I set my eyes on!"

"You sly fox.. Fox." Krystal says, giggling at how funny it sounds.

"Well, I'd be doing a disservice to our species if I didn't keep a few things secret."

"Like what's under those clothes of yours, hmm?" She purrs. She'd been much more aggressive after the time that Rob-64 had to give her pills, losing much of her fear of becoming intimate.

"Not yet, Krystal, not yet." Fox chuckles.

"Fox, I'm sorry about pushing you off when you tried to kiss me. I'm sorry."

"Krystal, you don't have to apologize- And here we are, the storage bay. This is where the crystal is."

They step inside the storage bay, and Slippy greets them.

"Hey Fox! Hi Krystal! I'm glad to see your both doing well! Anyway, Falco's been moping around the landing bay, says he's pissed off because we don't have any contracts to take."

"If he's worried about money, tell him that running a battlecruiser is a lot less expensive than you think."

"I'd just like a little peace and quiet, some time to be with Fox." Krystal says.

"Yeah, I forgot to put this out, but I I've booked us a vacation on Sauria, near the beach, thought everybody needed some air." Fox says, snapping his fingers.

"Are we going to talk about going to the beach, or are you going to show me that crystal?" Krystal says, sticking her tongue out so that it just pokes out of her mouth.

"C'mon, let's go see it."

"Well, I'll be looking forward to that vacation." Slippy says, stretching.

Fox and Krystal walk to where the crystal is, and she gasps at the sight of it. "Gods and goddesses, Fox this is incredible!" She steps over to it, and gets down on her knees, touching it with both of her hands. "This crystal- Has so many memories. It's got my planets history on it! And what you'd call audio logs from each of the people who lived there!" She happily yips.

"But my planet, my people, everything, it's all gone." Krystal takes her hands off it.

Fox crouches down and hugs Krystal, and she hugs him back."Krystal, If I'd have known that it'd remind you of your planet.."

"No, Fox, It's not your fault. I'm so happy." She says, whimpering. Despite her claims of happiness, Fox senses a deep sadness lurking behind her eyes.

"Krystal…" Fox says, genuinely confused.

"Fox, I think it's your father. W-Was his name James?"

"Baby, are you alright?"

"Fox, I'm the happiest I've been in years." Still crying, she gives Fox the happiest look that he's ever seen her give anybody.

"Krysie, It's great to see you so happy." Fox purrs, and he reaches down and touches the crystal. He gets flashes of hundreds of people, and a familiar voice. "Dad?" Fox calls out.

"You've got yourself a girlfriend, I see."

"Dad, are you proud of me?"

"You're living above and beyond my expectations, son."

"Why are you here, dad?"

"I visited Cernia, and well.. I got into one of their rituals. So now I'm connected to all of those blue foxes." He laughs. "Treat that girl of yours right, she's one of a kind. Literally."

"I will, dad!" Fox barks happily.

"Remember to tend to her if you know what I mean, it's that time of year!" He lets out an uproarious laugh. "So yeah, I'm dead. Thought you'd want to know that."

"Dad, this is really morbid, but how did you die? And are you with mom?"

"Ya see, Pigma betrayed me. I got offed in one of those prison cells like the ones from the movies, with the metal bed and sadistic guard and all. I'm not going to burden you with how I reposed, but I can tell you this; I'm with Vixy."

"Where is she?"

"Off talking with Krystal's parents. Those people have no idea of decency! God, I love them. You can just shuck off everything and-"

"Dad!"

"Oh yeah. You're my son. Shouldn't talk about topics like that. Well, I'm off to visit. Check back really anytime."

"Bye dad!" Fox says, a broad grin on his face.

"See you, son!" His father says, slowly fading into a bright light until he's no longer visible.

Fox wakes up from the psychic vision, and finds the whole team clustered around him.

"What's wrong? Did Rob-64 explode?" Fox says.

"You're alright!" Krystal yips, tightly grasping his hand.

"Good God, Fox. We thought you were dying or something!" Slippy croaks.

"Fox, what in Brooklyn traffic hell happened there?" Falco says.

"Falco, hold back your dinkin' questions! Let Fox get up and all." Peppy grumbles.

Fox gets up, and Krystal follows his ascent. "Krystal, you-" His nose twitches. "-Smell really good."

"Oh, It's nothing, just something natural." She says, her hands drifting toward Fox's more sensual areas.

"Um.. Krystal.." Fox stutters. "So, Falco, you want to know what happened? Well,- MEEP!" He squeaks as Krystal's exploring hands inch to close for comfort.

"Mmmm…" She purrs, looking at her vulpine with desire in her eyes.

"Where was I? Ah, so I touched that crystal and my-"

"I'd like it if you touched me.." Krystal murmurs.

"-Dad started talking to me, and we talked about so many things, and how mom is with him and how I should treasure Krystal." Fox says.

"You talked to James? Fox, I think you need some time off, this whole things been getting to you." Peppy says, a worried look spreading across his face.

"I don't need 'time off' it was really my dad! He talked to me, talked about Krystal's parents! It's that crystal! It's got everything!" Fox barks, angry that nobody believes him.

"Oi! Fox, how about we go to the briefing room. There's a message for you there..." Krystal says, growling assertively.

Fox hadn't completely forgotten about Krystal, but was jolted by her growling, she was growling in a tone she'd never heard her use before. "Sure, Krystal."

"Oh goody." Krystal purrs.

"Well, I'll get Slippy and Falco to help with repairing the arwings. Remember Fox, take a break!" Peppy says.

Fox and Krystal embrace, and Krystal grasps his tail, stroking it lovingly. Fox sniffs the air again, and gets a strong kick from a musk emanating from Krystal. "So there's a message for me in the briefing room?"

"Righto, Foxy. I heard it's pretty important. Needs tending to almost immediately." Krystal says, her eyes cutting from his face to his groin, and back again.

As they walk, Krystal sways her hips, smiling slightly. Fox rubs her side, and she bites her lip, obviously trying to hold back some odd noise. Soon enough they're at the briefing room. Krystal swipes her hand in front of the door, and it opens. "Ladies first!" She yips.

"I'll take you up on that, you're certainly no lady!" Fox sweetly shoots back.

"Why you- you- discourteous man!" She says, smiling.

"Well, I'll be a 'discourteous man' and go first." Fox purrs.

He steps inside the room, to the familiar chairs and viewing screen. "Go on, sit down." Krystal says.

Fox takes a seat, wondering what the message is about. "So, Krystal, what's this whole thing about?"

"You can figure it out." Krystal says, throwing off her pilots jacket.

"What do you mean?"

She slips off her boots and pants, only her tank top and underwear left on. "Oh, Foxy, I didn't know you were this innocent!" She says . She starts to move, almost dance, very seductively, arousing Fox within seconds. "I want to mate with so bad right now." She moans.

Her musk, that scent is even stronger now. "You're in heat! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, Foxy, that'd ruin the whole surprise!" She giggles, her whole body bouncing in just the right places. She pads over to where Fox is sitting, and plops her shapely form down on his lap.

Fox, unable to control one lustful impulse, grabs her breasts, kneading them with unfiltered lust.

Oh godessesses!" She gasps. "Enough with this, I know you like them though."

"What do you mean-FFFF-" He draws his breath in as Krystal pulls down his pants and boxers in one deft movement of her hand..

"I'm one foxy vixen, a horny one too." She moans.

"So you're not scared anymore?"

She's panting now, heat building up in her womanhood, and she bites her lip, trying to hold it in for just one more second. "Mate me like a I'm wild vixen! Do it!" She says, ripping of her underwear and rubbing herself on Fox's exposed and inflamed manhood.

Fox puts his hands on Krystal's sides and presses her down onto him, slipping past her lips and inside her womanhood. She shrieks in pain, but her body urges her on, and she bucks against Fox, each small movement causing her tinges of a horrible feeling. "Fox! FOX!" She whines.

Fox groans and grunts in pleasure as Krystal lets out a moan of satisfaction as he slows down his thrusts a little. "God, Krys, you feel so good!" Fox says.

"Fox…"She says lustfully, her tongue lolling out of her mouth and onto his shoulder, staining his jacket.

Her voice breaks Fox out of his euphoria. "Are you okay? Uh.. Does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't at all… More, Fox!" She says.

He pulls out from her, and she whines, that action causing her to hurt just a bit more.

Suddenly, the viewing screen lights up, and the words 'Live message from Gen. Pepper' pop onscreen, and a few seconds later he appears.

"Team Starfox I've got a job- Oh good lord!" The old general says, shielding his eyes.

"Could you get back to us another time?" Fox says as Krystal sobs loudly.

"I'm so sorry about this happening. If you happen to engage in any more intimate activities, please place a do not call message for me." Pepper says before hanging up.

"Well, we'd better get our clothes back on.." Fox says, crestfallen.

"Fox… You know how much I need your seed..." She pants, taking in breath as if she'd been sprinting.

"Only if it won't hurt you." Fox says sternly.

She rests her head on his shoulders, and whispers; "Fox..."

"Okay, I'm starting again.." He says.

Krystal grits her teeth and waits for the pain, but she's met with a wave of pleasure, unlike the stabbing pain that she felt when Fox entered her earlier. "UOHH!" She moans, starting to get into the rhythm of Fox's movements. As Fox thrusts a bit further into her, she gets more of that mind numbing pleasure.

Moaning, Krystal grasps Fox tightly, wanting for for the bliss he's bringing her, even better than last time, to go on forever Fox feels wet drool on his shoulder, but against his instinct to stop and wipe away her gathering saliva, he keeps going. He gently thrusts in the last inch, and she screams as she feels something inside her womanhood tear. Even through that pain, though, she feels zings of pure pleasure shooting through her, aided by the intoxicating scent of Fox's arousal pheromones.

"F-Fox! Foxy! F-Fox!" Sheyells, unable to says anything else, her mind overwhelmed and her heat driven body wanting even more. For another wonderful minute, it goes on, but then Fox stops. He shudders, and she feels herself almost tighten. Something's suddenly deep in her, something very warm and wet. Not his manhood. His man's essence! She thinks, grinning ear to ear at the thought of kits.

"Krystal-" He pants, his climax still overwhelming his mind with pleasured thoughts. "-You fit so good.." He growls pleasurably.

"I've going to have kits, Fox! I'm so happy, my own litter! To suckle, to wean, to see who they take after!" She yips, overjoyed at the prospect.

"Kits? Huh?" Fox mumbles, leaning on Krystals back.

"Don't tell me you don't know about kits?" Krystal says, amused.

Fox wakes up out of his afterglow. "I mean, don't you want to take contraceptive or something?"

"Why would I do that? I've been blessed by the gods and goddesses to become full with kits and bear them!" She barks enthusiastically.

"You sure seem to like that idea." Fox laughs, stroking her hair.

"Could you take it out now? It's kinda tickling me." She says.

Fox gently pulls out, and Krystal gets another huge surge of pleasure, contrasting with the pain she'd felt at the beginning. "I'm so tired now.." Fox says, and Krystal murmurs the same.

"Get your clothes all back on and everything." Krystal purrs. She slides off of Fox's lap, sashaying in just a way that gives Fox peeks at her heart shaped rear, and she wags her tail to accentuate that effect.

"God, Krystal, you love teasing me, don't you?" Fox says, salivating at the ideas that he's having about her.

"And you love looking, yeah?" Krystal says, putting back on her pants and boots.

"I won't lie, your body is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen." Fox remarks, and he licks his chops.

"I think I know what you want, but not now. We've been gone for about an hour, and if we spend any more time they'll start to wonder what we're off doing!" She giggles, throwing her flight jacket over her shoulder.

As Fox pulls his pants and boxers up, he thinks about what a wonderful vixen Krystal is, and just how smashing she looks in the position she's holding.

"C'mon Fox, get moving, we've got to look busy." She smiles. "Oh, you like it when I've got my jacket over my shoulder? Well, I'll remember to strike this one more often."

Fox gets up, and rolls his neck. He pads over to where Krystal is standing and takes her hand. He sniffs in, and gets such a hit of pheromones that he feels lightheaded. "Krystal.. Your heat.. It's really strong. You might want to take a shower or put on some perfume."

"Oh, Fox! Nobody but other foxes can smell it. And you're the only Fox on this ship."

"Well, it's really- Turning me on…" Fox whines, his eyes pleading her. "And I don't want to embarrass you or me in case I lose control because of your musk."

Krystal pulls out a small bottle from her jacket pocket and unscrews the top. She drips a small amount onto her hand and rubs it onto her pants. "Happy now? It's called Vixen's Guile."

"Ahhh.." Fox sighs, breathing in the flowery scent. "You smell even better than that musk.." He growls affectionately. As he sniffs the air, he eases closer to Krystal. Grasping her back, he brings her closer to him, growling all the while.

"Um- Fox?" Krystal says, confused. We just mated! I've already got his essence, why would he need to mate anymore? She thinks.

"I want to be with you forever."

"Fox? Are you talking life-mates?" Krystal gasps.

"I'd like your hand in marriage, Krystal, Princess of Cernia, last of her proud race, and the most beautiful vixen I've ever see in my twenty-eight years of life."

Krystal looks at Fox with a shocked visage, clasping her hands over her heart. "F-Fox, I, Krystal, Princess of Cernia accept Fox Mccloud of Cornaria as my-my- Oh Fox!" She embraces him, unable to finish her sentence. She grabs Fox by his collar and pulls him to their room. She turns her head towards him, smiling at her orange tod, the one who just proposed to her. "Come on! Hop to it!" She barks as she drags him inside the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Aw, crap.. I was gonna ask them something.." Slippy croaks disheartedly. He walks along to the breifing room, and as he enters it, he gets a whiff of and unmistakable smell. Fortunately, innocent Slippy mistakes it for the smell of the take-out he left in there.

Fox and Krystal embrace, kissing each other passionately and tearing their partner's clothes off, a hissing comes from the direction of the bed.

"Wait- Krys, are you making any hissing noises?" Fox asks.

"No, Foxie-Woxie." Krystal murrs, pulling off his undershirt.

"ANDROSS WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN!" A screaming, harsh voice comes from the bed.

Suddenly, a Reptilian shape jumps out at them, and tries to stab Fox.

Dodging the assassin's knife, Fox knocks it in the arm, but the assassin doesn't let go.

"DIE, BITCH OF MCCLOUD!" The assassin yells, and slices the knife across Krystals stomach.

She stumbles back, her expression rife with pain. Holding her unseen wound, she falls onto the bed.

"Oh God!" Fox says, eyeing the fallen vixen. His shock turns to anger, and he grabs the lamp on the nightstand, and bashes it upside the lizards chin. As glass shatters, blood flows, and the assassin jumps back towards the entrance of the room.

Krystal's hand shoots up, a pistol grasped firmly in her fingers. She fires, and the Venomian's head and chest are peppered with shrapnel. It gurgles, reaching out with knife in hand for Fox, but it dies before it can harm him. As it falls to the ground, it fades out, as if being beamed away.

Krystal gets up, holding her stomach. "Fox.." She groans.

"Krystal!" Fox yells, and he sprints the short distance to her. When he reaches her, he holds her close, and starts to cry. "I-I th-thought y-you were dead.." He sobs. As he cries, he becomes more and more limp, and his hold on her starts to loosen.

"Fox? Are you okay?" Krystal whines, worried for her vulpine. "Fox?" She's panicking now that he's not answering. Then she hears his gentle sleepy purring. "Little Foxy's fallen asleep in his vixens arms… Gods, I love him."

Krystal dozes off, Fox's scent on her nose and the soft feel of his fur against hers.


	11. Point of Entrance

The bucking of a shotgun against Fox's shoulder was the only feedback I could get from him, with his mental footprint being weak right now. I cursed as I hunkered behind my cover. I was itching to get my hands on some of those Venomians after the stuff they pulled on us when we were in The Great Fox. "EY! Need some covering fire over here!" I called to Slippy as I ran up behind some metal boxes, having deemed my old cover insufficient.

"Got em' running now!" He yelled as he fired his chattering weapon at the enemy. I pumped my fist in the air triumphantly, just like I'd seen Fox do so many times. Even in combat, Slippy's squeaky, almost girlish voice made me want to burst out laughing, even after a year of living in close proximity. I liked him, he'd 'shown me the ropes' as he put it.

"Righto, should I follow you or stay here?" I asked, shifting my weight onto my left leg, as that was the leg not as affected as much by my limp.

"Follow me, Krystal!" Slippy croaked, still laying down suppressing fire with his LMG.

"On you!" I yelled, rushing from my cover, popping off a couple shots in the general direction of the enemy.

As casing piled up at Slippy's feet, I noticed a distinct lack of gunfire coming at us, a matter of fact, there wasn't any at all. I opened my mind, searching for any physic frequencies. The only ones I could pick up were Slippy's, Falco's, and- Fox's was missing! I panicked, whimpering, and throwing worried glances over my shoulder. I'd mated with him, after all, and I wasn't going to let him be in get hurt, or worse, die. Not on my watch, and the thought of him dying at the hands of those filthy Venomians made me seethe with anger. I checked the magazine on my rifle. It was full, and for a second I felt sorry for the poor bastards on the receiving end of them. Then I remembered something Fox told me. "They'd rape you, and then with your use ended, kill you without shedding a tear." I was a still virgin at that point, so the mere idea of mating terrified me. After that day, I'd fought ten times as hard, especially in close combat scenarios, and I brushed up on CQB, getting to be quite proficient with a ram.

"Krystal, you're staggering. Are you okay? Dammit! Are you hit?"

"N-No.." I said, still panicking over a lack of mental signs from Fox.

"BOO!" Fox yelled, jumping at us from behind. I was terrified, letting loose a yelp. I wheeled around with my rifle, ready to fill whatever was attacking us with lead. "Krysie, it's just me!" He said, and then walked close to me. I loved being near Fox, he comforted me during hard times and I helped him with his problems. He'd been much happier since I found out his father was in the crystal that was currently on the nightstand.

But at the moment, I was more angry at Fox for scaring me like that, and in a warzone!

"Fox, you bloody well almost got yourself shot! Don't do that!" I said, motioning with my hands at the rifle pointed at his chest.

"Well, I'm not dead yet, am I?" Fox said, bringing me into a kiss.

He liked the feel of my lips, and I loved the taste that he carried, a musky one, but it sent me into a tizzy every time we kissed. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in deeper. Then I gently pushed away and said; "We might want to get back to the mission, Fox, I want you as much as you want me, but we'd better wait if you want to get dirty with your vixen." I purred, knowing just how much it made Fox stumble when I teased him in front of other people.

"Krys.. Slippy's here.." He whined, obviously enjoying my teasing, but embarrassed by my openness about mating.

"C'mon then! Let's get out there!" I yelled, to Fox.

"Okay. Slippy, on me. Krystal, on me."

"I'd love it if you were on me..." I yipped, and Fox blushed.

"Do you have to make everything sexual?" Fox sighed, reloading his shotgun.

"Only when I want to, Foxy."

"Krys, do you want to?..." Fox stuttered, so embarrassed to be asking about mating. He may have been a bit older than me, but his timidness when it came to woman, and especially me, was incredible.

"Foxy, I'm your vixen! You can ask anything." I purred, already feeling hot. My season was still in, and any hint of intimacy put me on pins and needles.

"When this whole thing is over, I'd like to just go to bed. I've been pretty tired. Not getting enough sleep." He said, almost turning scarlet for a second.

"Well, you know how I get about the whole thing…" I whined, reminding him that I was still in season.

He winced, mentally kicking himself. "Sorry about that, Krys."

"Hey! You two fuckfoxes! Should finish up this contract!." Falco said, startling both of us with his caw. He slung his sidearm into his holster, walking towards us.

"Falco, we're going to assault the main enemy fortification." I growled, baring my teeth. I hated Falco since he beat the merciless neraxus out of me. I'd let some… Things slip and Fox tried to mate with me. It was a terrifying experience, his hands on my back and him pressing against me. I broke down then, but he helped me through it, the tod.

"Yeah, I heard." He scoffed.

"Slippy, Falco, pair off! I'll go with Krystal!" Fox yelled.

After exchanging a few words, they ran to the second entrance to the bunker, and we went to the first. "Fox, place that charge!"

"I'm priming it, don't be impatient." He said as he stuck it to the door.

We both sprinted to a safe distance, and hunkered down. Soon after, the deafening sound of both Fox's and Slippy's charges going off at the same time alerted us that we needed to rush in.

"Ready yourself!"

"Bloody well I am!"

I poked my head around the corner of the doorframe, and the helmeted head of a pirate met mine. He'd seen us coming towards the door, and since the breaching charge was a dead giveaway, he'd had time to position himself for an ambush. "Fox! Contact!"

The pirate, armed with a magnum, shot me square in the chest, knocking the breath out of me.

The bullet hadn't hurt me, just lodged in my armor. Fox, upon hearing the gunshot and my shout, jumped through the door and blew the pirate's hand to a bloody stump.

The pirate looked down at his stump and screams, reaching for the gun with his left hand. Fox grabbed him and did something I couldn't see. Suddenly, there was a loud snapping and the pirate's struggling ceased.

"Thanks for the save, Fox, but I had it under control." I said, slightly disappointed that I was unable to dispatch the pirate myself.

"Sorry, but we need to stick together, or else we'll get picked off." Fox said, the worry showing through on his face.

"Well, I can take care of myse- FOX! LOOK OUT!" I screamed, firing my rifle wildly at the approaching pirates, their hands still locked on their triggers as they fell to the ground. Blood smeared the walls and Fox spun around to meet them with another blast of his shotgun, obliterating the section of wall where they'd been running before.

"Это Звездная лиса! Убирайся отсюда! (StarFox is here! Get out of there!)" A shout echoed from within the chamber leading to the entrance.

Both Fox and I sprinted into the room, catching the pirate trenchcoat-wearing commander and his bodyguards in mid-retreat, their backs to the muzzles of our weapons.

"Surrender!" I yelled, motioning with my rifle to indicate for them to stand down.

"НИКОГДА! Корни свиней! (NEVER! Cornarian pigs!)" The commander maniacally laughed, unveiling a suicide vest under his trenchcoat. His finger rested on the explosive trigger, his hand trembling. His eyes were filled with so much hatred and pain that I almost felt sorry for the pirate murderer.

"She said stand down!" Fox barked, pumping his shotgun and edging away from them.

"Тогда ты умрешь со мной! НА НЕБЕСА! (Then you will die with me! TO HEAVEN!)" The suicidal pirate bellowed, depressing the trigger.

I tackled Fox with as much strength as I could muster, sending both of us tumbling out of the room. But we weren't safe yet, as the fire of the explosion raced after us. We both scrambled as fast as we could out of the bunker, landing on top of each other, panting heavily. Fox just splayed out, and gave a sigh of relief. I laid on top of him, still recovering from tackling Fox. With any luck, we'd get out of it with just a few bruises.

Slippy jogged over to us, puffing and panting with the exertion of running. "Fox, Krystal! Falco said for me to 'stay outside and guard", but I told him not to go in alone, and he did!" He said.

"Dammit, it's Falco. Can't he put off trying to be the best for one moment?"

I got off of Fox, holding my hand out to him. He took it and pulled himself up.

"Guys!" Slippy suddenly yelled, mustering his vocal strength.

Sprays of gunfire laced from the armored bunker-building, pockmarking the ground with smoking bullet holes.

"I thought it was Falco's job to clear that side of the bunker! Fuck, he didn't! Get down!" Fox yelled, pushing me over, and then throwing himself down onto the ground. He shot off a slug, but it only put dents in the armored window-slits of the bunker. "Fuck it!" He yelled.

I raised up my rifle, and sighting my target, pulled off a magazine a matter of seconds, the high caliber bullets blowing through the metal shielding on the openings and windows, sparks flying high into the air as the scrap fell apart and into pieces. The telltale scream of pain from inside, and the abrupt stop of the cascade of lead informed us that I'd found my mark.

"Good shot, Krystal!" Slippy cheered, smiling at me.

"That was a damn good shot!" Fox yipped, his rough yip contributing to the growing sense of pride in my breast.

"Well, all of you really taught me how to use a weapon, so you're to blame for my good aim!" I purred, basking in the silence that follows every firefight.

"Hey, where's my praise and thanks?" Falco said, coming into view from the entrance to the bunker.

"You didn't take out one of the gunners in the bunker, it could've gotten us killed!" Fox said, frustrated.

"But you're not dead, are you?" Falco shot back.

I blocked out their bickering, and swiveled my ears, allowing the now present wind to sweep through my hair. I'd had it short the whole time I'd known Fox, since if I grew it out it'd get in the way of my eyes, and also I knew from the edges and hints of emotion that he liked my hair short.

When I turned back, they were done arguing, and Fox was giving his after-mission speech.

"It's another contract, another paycheck, guys." Fox said, the aura of leadership around him strong. "Rob, bring down The Great Fox, and make sure to send a message to General Pepper; we've killed the pirates with minimal property damage."

For a few minutes, we all just stared up at the stars, taking in the view, or at least most of us were. Falco seemed to be preoccupied with flipping Fox off as many times as he could without him noticing.

"Oi, Falco!" I shouted at him, and he could tell from my tone that I was angry as neraxus at him.

"Hey, Krystal, wanna mess with Fox?" He chuckled, and I grimaced at his attempt at what I saw as flirting.

"If you're wondering," I growled from deep down in my throat. "I'm taken, and you'd better not try to hit on a taken vixen, the vixen of Fox Mccloud, hero of Lylat."

I was unnerved by his attempt to even dare to flirt with me, after he'd beaten me up that horrible day. The fact that Fox was around when he tried to flirt left me scared about what he'd do in the confines of The Great Fox. I may be a warrior, but he'd have the jump on me if he decided to.. I put **_it_ **aside, shuddering at the thought of it.

"Everybody, the Great Fox is landing, be ready to board it, secure your belongings, yada yada yada." Fox said, strutting to Slippy, Falco, me and patting each of us on the back. When it came to me though, he gave me a peck on the cheek. I blushed, and unashamedly ran my hand over his chest, feeling of his well muscled body. I'd yet to find any actual fat on his body, but I'd only gotten to see him in his birthday suit once, that time that we mated in the briefing room. Fox then jokingly called it the debriefing room from then on, and I tucked my tail everytime he mentioned that. I was very nervous about the crew finding out about us being a more serious couple.

The Great Fox landed, and each of us got walked up the ramp, giddy with the prospect at another paycheck. As we stepped inside, I stayed near Fox, not at all wanting to be close to Falco, and especially alone with him. Of course, I couldn't be near Fox all the time, as was obvious to a mercenary.

When he'd gone off to do something, Falco approached me, and leaned against the wall.

"So, blue, are you up for something?"

"Falco, w-what is that something?" I nervously asked, having to to keep myself from shivering.

"How about a little target practice? I wanna show you some tips." He said nicely enough. He'd only rejoined the team a little while ago and I didn't know him as well as the rest of the team. From what I'd heard about him from conversation, however hushed, was that he was quite the ladies man.

"I'm up for that." I said against my better judgement.

As we walked to the firing range, I peered into his mind. Surprisingly, there wasn't any alterior motive behind him wanting to show me how to show me tips on how to shoot better.

"Falco, why are you trying to be like- friendly?"

"Well, I feel really bad, like Brooklyn bad, about beating the shit out of you that one time." He said, obviously trying not to break his tough image.

"Falco, to be honest.. I thought you were trying to bed me when you said you wanted to show me some tips" I said, feeling bad for mischaracterizing him.

"Why would I do that?! It'd only land me in deep shit with Fox, and although I don't really like how much attention he's giving to you, you foxes are a couple. I respect that. I mean, I've got one. Her names Katt, she flies solo. I've been trying to get her to join, but she wants to stay 'free and out in space'."

At this point, we'd reached the shooting range. I reached for my regular weapon, and Falco drew his. "Now, you've got down most of the skills, but your handling could use a little help."

He stood there for a second before he talked again. "What are you waiting for? Take a couple potshots at the targets."

"Let me put in the ear protection first Falco." I said, popping the sound-buffering earbuds into my ears. "Alright, ready."

I raised my weapon up, resting the stock against my shoulder, and steadied my boot soles onto the floor. First, I sighted the target, making sure to fire for maximum effect. I pulled the trigger, and the loud cracking of the gun going off instantly sharpened my senses. The bullets I'd fired blew through the head of the target, and the torso area was the next to obliterated.

"Good shots, blue." Falco congratulated, clapping as best he could with his feathery hands.

"..But you could have held it like this for better control of the recoil." He said, and he stepped up behind me and positioned my arms in such a way that I had much better control over the recoil.

I was so scared at that moment, and I blushed scarlet as he touched my arms. _He doesn't mean any harm, Krystal. Stay calm._ I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself.

Falco had noticed my odd breathing, and raised his eyebrows. "You're breathing really quickly."

"It's nothing. Let's get on with this, righto?" I yipped, trying to appear calm.

"Kay, now, position your legs like so." He reached down and moved my legs a couple inches down. "Lower center of gravity means even more control over recoil. Ya' see, if it comes to using a higher caliber weapon, like Slippy's machine gun, you'll need to know how to do this.

 _He-He touched my legs!? Goddesses, I hope this doesn't involve anymore touching…_

I was becoming very, very uncomfortable with this.

"Okay Krystal, try shooting now."

I popped of a shot. He hadn't been lying, my position had made the recoil decrease quite a lot.

"Yeah, I think I've got it." I said. "Could you demonstrate so that you won't have to move me in battle?" I chuckled despite myself.

"Sure, blue." He said, miming me. I studied his positioning, and moved back to the firing line.

"Have I got it?" I said, hoping to avoid any more touching.

"Yeah, you've got it. If you keep that up, you'll perform better in combat."

At that moment, Fox walked in, and Falco waved, smiling best he could with his beak.

"And what are you doing?" Fox growled, still holding a grudge against him for attacking me.

"Fox, he's being friendly. It's okay." I said soothingly, slapping Falco on the back.

"I've got apologies to make as well, since you seem to have made amends with Fally." He sucked in breath through his teeth nervously. "I'm sorry I've been so negligent of our friendship."

"So you wanna bring back the old bromance?" Falco chuckled.

"You-you and Falco... were in a relationship?" I'd not really imagined Fox being in romance with another man.

Fox put his hand behind his back nervously, slightly embarrassed to mention his 'bromance' to me. "Well.. It's an old thing. We were a pair in academy. Never got further than making out in an Arwing once or twice."

"If I remember right, I had to keep you from staring at Fara whenever we'd see her." Falco said, but the idea of the two… having a love without the prospect of a child, astonished me, and Fox loving other women, it shocked me, and scared me that her might break away and leave me for another.

"Krystal, did your planet have that? I can tell from the look you're giving me that you think it's weird." Fox said, a hint of disapproval in his tone.

"No.. It's just that- Picturing you with someone else is- Troubling to me." I shot back, not seeing why Fox wouldn't think it was weird to have a relationship with another man. It'd be like me with another priestess, which of course wouldn't work. No kits, no love. That was the reason given by my father and mother on Cernia. "If you happen to have any more roots of that love in you, you'd ought to think it through." I spat, and instantly realized the look of hurt on Fox's face.

He started to walk away, his ears down and his tail drooping. "I'm just going to go and read some..." He said, the sadness and hurt in his voice obvious.

"Fox, wait, please? I didn't mean to-" I tried to say, but he'd already walked out of the shooting range. I looked down in shame.

"If you're wondering, I don't want him back." Falco said calmly, assuring me even more of naivety concerning them.

"Do you mind if I go and try to make up to him?" I asked, wiping my eyes on my jacket.

"You've pretty much got down the positioning and everything, so yeah." Falco said, gesturing over his shoulder.

"Thanks, Falco."

I padded out to me and Fox's room, but when I reached it, the door was locked. "Fox? It's Krystal." I said, leaning against the door.

"I-I just need some time to uh… read my dad's book." Fox stuttered back, and I could hear the hint of anger in his voice.

"I'm coming in, Fox," I said before tapping in the code on the keypad and opening the door. Going inside, I looked over at Fox, sitting on the bed with the Space Dynamics book resting on his knee.

As he noticed me, his anger evaporated and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Krystal? I-I don't want for you to leave me…." He whimpered, his mouth curling downwards.

"Fox, I said that in the heat of the moment." I soothingly said.

"Krystal, I was a kit then! A kit! I didn't know I'd meet such a wonderful vixen!" He whines, feeling so terrible that I could feel the waves of fear and pain radiating off him, forming an aura around him.

"Foxy, please don't feel bad about this." I barked, trembling.

"No, this'll turn out bad Krystal, I'll hurt you, and you'll hurt me and it'l-" I cut him off by crushing him in a hug and kissing him, pressing my tongue through his teeth, swirling it against his, urging a response.

He returned the embrace, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me deeper into the kiss. He twirled his tongue around mine, and I moaned into it, his sudden aggression putting me into a state.

 _Fox, we need to get do this another time._ I thought, and I could feel his sudden disappointment.

He broke away from our kiss. "Dammit, Krystal. I was starting to get into that." he grumbled.

"Oh come off it Fox, I've a real surprise for you tonight." I purred, and I sensed Fox's immediate arousal.

"What've you got planned, baby…?" He growled sweetly.

"I can't tell, or else it wouldn't be a surprise would it?" I said, winking at him.

We got off the bed, and he put his arm around me comfortingly. Walking out of the room, I wondered what he's hiding. When he came into the shooting range, I could tell he was hiding something. I leaned my head against Fox's shoulder, nuzzling him, and he nuzzled me back.

 _A celo yei, Fox._ I thought to him. _I love you Krystal,_ He thought back.


	12. Slow Morning

"Alexy, move it." The man whispered, "You want to get back to your wife in one piece, right?"

"Yeah, Cheslav, my wife was gunned down years ago by Cornarian assassins. You know that, you son of a bitch." The other said back, tapping several buttons on a keypad.

"Well, I am a wolf, soon to be lone wolf if we don't get out of here."

"For godssakes, Cheslav, be quiet. Setting up a bomb takes precision- And silence!"

Cheslav stayed quiet until Alexy tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm done, now we can get out of here." He said, a confident grin on his face. The two stealthily moved back to the entrance of the building, and with a mutter of; "We do this for freedom." and the pressing of a button, the building exploded in a blinding flower of fire and debris.

Fox wakes up to the radio blabbering something about a terrorist attack on the Cornarian secret service bureau. He hits the radio, partially crushing it in the process of turning it off. Krystal snuggles deeper into his shoulder. "Just one more hour… Uhhhhh…" She groans.

"Stupid radio, God, I didn't get much sleep."

"Neither did I, Fox, we should've gone to sleep instead of mating, guuuhhh…"

"Krystal, we didn't mate, remember?"

"No, we did, my hips still hurt."

Fox sighs and scratches the blue vixen's head as she wakes up, her intelligent green eyes slowly opening. "Rise and shine, Krys."

Her tail begins to thump against the bed frame, the the decorative bracelets on her tail clanking with each wag. She gets up and stretches, squeaking as she does so. She then smiles at Fox, playfully nipping him on the ear.

"I'm going to…" She says, her face screwing up with indecision. "...Lay down on my tod and hope he doesn't get up."

"Wait wait wait wa- UMPH!" Fox gasps as the naked vixen jumps out of the bedsheets and into the air, landing on his chest, smothering him with adoring kisses. They lock lips, each of them making small moaning noises. When they seperate, Fox tries to get up, but Krystal growls until he lays back down.

"Just lay down." She says, breathing heavily. Her tongue lawls out of her mouth and she looks intently at Fox, her eyes full of lust.

"Krystal, no mating until we get married." Fox firmly says, frowning a bit.

She giggles and pokes him on the nose, smiling. "I'm so happy you remembered, Fox. I half expected you not to!" She says sweetly, getting off Fox and padding over to the clothes drawers, getting out her underwear then her jeans, tank top, and pilot's jacket. She sits down on the bed and puts them on while Fox marvels at her. After Krystal's done putting everything on, she stretches out beside Fox, licking him on the neck, making him squeak in an adorable fashion.

"Krystal, I'm going to have to get up sometime." Fox says, sitting up. He slowly slides off the bed, and Krystal makes a pouty face at him.

"Why'd you get up, Fox? You're the best bed." Krystal fake-whines.

"Well, I need to get dressed, do you expect me to walk around naked all day?"

"Oohh…" Krystal burbles sweetly. "I'd love that."

"I'd like that too, but common decency decides otherwise!" Fox bursts out laughing.

He slips on his boxers, pants, and is about to put on his shirt when Krystal reaches her hand out and lays it on his abs.

"You're really strong, Fox." She whispers.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am. The better to protect you."

Krystal hugs him, and she sighs. "When are we going to stop this, Fox? You've been doing it for most of your life, and I've been doing it for the time I've known you." She whines. "But most importantly-" She draws in breath. "I want our kits to live in a peaceful galaxy."

Fox's eyes almost bug out of his head. "Krystal, are you pregnant?"

"No, but I can feel something. I just want to make it a peaceful galaxy _with you_." She looks up into his eyes and he wishes he could somehow rid the galaxy of all evil in one swoop.

"You haven't done anything wrong, Fox. You're my ideal mate, the perfect tod. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I want to as well, but Krys I need to get my shirt on if I'm going to do anything to do with a wedding."

Krystal smiles and takes her hand off his abdomen, letting Fox put on his shirt. He then shakes on his jacket, giving Krystal a small peck on the cheek as he dresses. When he's done dressing, they both walk out the door of their room. They're met with and unpleasant sight: Slippy being held in the air by Falco as a small robot scuttles around on the ground near their feet.

"You don't let fuckin' robots galumph around my quarters! It's my quarters!" Falco says.

"H-Hey! It's not my fault! The robot wasn't supposed to do that!" Slippy croaks.

Fox pushes Falco's hand down until Slippys feet are touching the ground, making sure the portly amphibian won't choke because of the height between him and the floor. "What the hell is this, guys? We're supposed to be a team!"

"Y'see, Slippy's little bot-thing went into my quarters, and it interrupted a call between me and Katt, and I don't like it when things interrupt me talking with my long-time girlfriend!" Falco looks hopefully over at Fox. "I think you'd know, after all, you know how moments with Krystal are. Remember that time that you two were getting it on'- And you got a mission call and were so pissed off that you didn't talk for most of it."

"Yeah- But that was-" Fox starts to say, but Krystal shushes him.

"Falco, yes he was upset, I'm his vixen. But he didn't pick up Peppy and sling him about. I understand you not liking being interrupted."

Slippy gives Falco a rather smug grin, assured that he'll win the argument.

"...And Slippy, you should've kept a better handle on that Robot, it could have hurt Falco. With new tech, you never know." Krystal says, draping her right arm over Fox's shoulder. "Plus, Fox promised me pancakes, didn't you?" She gives him her best pretty look, batting her eyelashes.

"I never promise- Oh all right, I'll make you pancakes, Krystal." Fox chuckles.

"My hero." She says, mock swooning into his arms.

"Enough of you guys' lovy-dovy shit, what gonna happen?" Falco says impatiently.

Slippy's stomach growls loudly. "I could sure go for some pancakes too…" He says.

"It's decided then! PANCAKES FOR EVERYBODY!" Fox yells, lifting Krystal into his arms and carrying like a you'd carry a bride.

"Fox!" She giggles. "Oh, I like this!"

Falco laughs wholeheartedly at the two foxes walk to the kitchen, with both Slippy and him in tow.

As they make it to the kitchen, Falco runs ahead and turns on a radio. Soon enough, the sounds of The Clash, REM, and numerous other bands blare from the kitchen.

Krystal's never heard any of this music, and she's mystified by it, the foreign sounds and instruments. But it's got a swing, a jive to it, that makes her want to dance. It reminds her of the dances on Cerinia. "What's this music, Fox? I've never heard anything like it."

"It's old 70's and 80's rock, Krystal." He puts her down and dances over to the stove, pulling out some pancakes batter from the cabinets.

Krystal starts to swing her hips to the music, tapping her foot to the beat. She jerks her hands to-and-fro, dancing energetically. She starts to sing in Cerinian, the harsh music and her melodic voice contrasting deftly.

"Den kxo badw kect kxo reewao mod

0ei xulo ke cok kxuk huwu thef

Kxo eac tend kxo tojohk nu0

Xuj rood jxubad' ke kxo kef

Kxo Jxoab xo thelo xaj Sutaccus

Xo nodk u' shiajad' tend kxo lacco

Kxo mioqqad nuj u' jkudtadw

Ed kxo hutaukeh whacco

Kxo Jxuhoov ted'k cabo ak

Hesbad' kxo Sujrux

Hesb kxo Sujrux

Kxo Jxuhoov ted'k cabo ak

Hesbad' kxo Sujrux

Hesb kxo Sujrux!"

She stamps her feet, wishing that she had a guitar to play. On Cerinia, she'd taken guitar lessons, learning much of the technique needed to play one skillfully, and she'd played during special temple occasions, such as her mother's birthday.

"R0 ehtoh ev kxo fhefxok

No rud kxuk reewao jeidt

Towodohuko kxo vuakxvic

Nakx kxuk shuq0 Sujrux jeidt

Rik kxo Roteiad kxo0 rheiwxk eik

Kxo ocoskhas sumoc thim

Kxo cesuc wiakuh fasboh

Wek xaj wiakuh fasbadw kximr

Uj jeed uj kxo Jxuhoov

Xut scouhot kxo jgiuho

Kxo0 rowud ke nuac!"

She sings the rest of the song, not noticing anything else but the notes and words of the music. Each drum beat, each crazed strum on the guitars sending her even further into her frenzy. As the song ends, she comes back to the real world, leaving the other one far behind. "Krystal? Krystaaal?" Fox calls, waving his hand in front of her face, his own red with embarrassment.

"Huh?" She says, blinking quickly. "I like the music."

"Well, you- Ah- just broke out dancing, and none of us really knew what was happening, so- Um-"

"I'm famished, where's the pancakes?" She says, licking her chops.

"I just finished them, Falco and Slippy are at the table, waiting for me to actually bring them in."

"I'm going to grab a seat at the table, I'm waiting for you." She kisses him on the cheek, and walks away with a jump in her step

"It's been three freaking minutes, and Fox hasn't brought any pancakes. What's he doing, plumbing that vixe-" Falco stops. "Shit." He whispers.

"He wasn't 'plumbing' me, I was dancing, and he was making your gods-damned pancakes."

"Hah! You got busted, Falco!" Slippy laughs, and with a swift movement of Falco's arm under the table, he doubles over, coughing.

Krystal sighs, sitting down in one of the five chairs placed strategically around the table. "You guys are acting like kits."

"PANCAKES!" Fox yells, bringing forward two plates piled sky-high with steaming hot, syrup drizzled, steaming delicious fresh pancakes.

Slippy drools unashamedly, and Krystal takes a sniff of the air, instantly salivating. Fox takes several plates and places them on the table, slinging five pancakes onto each plate. Falco immediately digs in, smushing his beak into the pancakes, not caring for using and silverware, or any implement of any kind. Slippy follows suit, picking up the pancakes and dropping them into his maw. Krystal looks over at both of them, and then at Fox, who's happily digging into his own stack, albeit larger. He's just putting his muzzle down and gnawing off bits of them.

 _Boys will be boys, I guess._ She thinks, and she picks up a pancake herself, and takes a large bite, chewing it thoughtfully. "These things are bloody delicious!" She says between mouthfuls of pancakes. Syrup goes all over her face, and for a minute, she thinks about how matted her fur will be after this. She throws that thought out, opting for stuffing more pancakes into her mouth. When everybody's done eating, Slippy lets out a large burp, and Falco tries to get the syrup off his beak, but succeeds only in pulling out some feathers and getting them stuck on his beak.

"So, how'd everybody enjoy those?" Fox barks, smiling.

"Good as Brooklyn. But cut down on the damn syrup this time, buddy." Falco says.

"I liked them, Fox, they were scrumptious. As for the syrup, I'm got it all over my face, but I can take a shower later. I've got one complaint though:"

Fox blanches, disappointed that Krystal didn't like his pancakes as much as he'd hoped.

"There wasn't enough syrup!" She yips.

Fox brightens up, and takes the syrup bottle in his hands. He throws it over to her, and she catches it. As she holds it, she wonders why Fox threw it to her. When she looks back up, he's bringing in even more pancakes. "Wow, Fox! How many did you make?" She marvels at the sheer amount of them.

"Enough to feed a small crew of a battlecruiser." He replies.

This time, he doesn't even bother with plates, he just flings pancakes at each of them.

Falco catches each of them in his hands and sets about to eating, whereas Slippy captures them in his mouth, scarfing them down. He starts to choke, and Falco slaps him hard on the back, making him hack up a large hunk of pancake. Krystal catches her's in her hands, but Fox throws and extra, and she catches it in her teeth, growling slightly. She bites into it viciously, snarfing the mouth-wateringly good delicacy. She cuts her eyes over to Fox, and he's eating his pancakes with about as much ferocity as she is.

"Goddesses, it looks like a silent picture slasher scene with all this syrup!" Krystal laughs, but nobody seems to get it. "Silent pictures, you know? Haven't you seen a silent picture? Nevermind."

"Have you ever seen 'Ultima Ratio'? Slippy pipes up.

Krystal thinks for a moment, and then speaks. "I don't believe I've ever heard of this 'Ultima Ratio.' What is it?"

"Only the greatest sci-fi movie of the century! You've gotta see it!"

"Yeah, Krys, Slippy's crazy about the Ultima Ratio movies. They've come out with seven of them, and now I think we should let you watch them, as a kind of rite of passage to our 'inner sanctum'." Fox snorts, amused. Slippy's already hopping out of his chair, rushing into the main common area, and turning on the large flat screen TV that's placed on the wall. Before long, the opening credits music is blaring from it, and Slippy yells for everybody to come in and watch it. They all walk in, sitting down, or in Fox and Krystal's case, stretching out on top of eachother.

"You're gonna love this, Krystal! It's got the best special effects, the coolest space battles and…"

"Oh, I'm looking forward to this." Krystal says, smiling at Fox's excitement at the movie as well.

'It is a dark day for the galactic rebellion…'


	13. Inebriated Existential

"Now that we've watched Ultima Ratio one, two, three, four, five and both the sequels, we need to watch the animated series!" Slippy croaks to Krystal.

"Those were interesting. Though when the enemy fleet attacked, why didn't they just smash their ship into the larger ship earlier? They had enough time, and people were dying. That just seemed to be there to add to the drama. And what was that casino scene? There were aliens, and weird hairless ape things that only had hair on their heads. Though I did like the lupine with the sword of light, she reminded me of my sister."

"Yeah, she was one of my favorite characters, but then I watched the newest Ultima Ratio, and the old, haggard racoon-man became my favorite."

Krystal closes her eyes and settles down onto Fox, happy to talk with him. "I thought the cosmic force was cool, it reminded me of Cerinian telepathy."

Falco opens his beak, talking through bites of pancake. "I thought that the whole-" He chews. "-thing was hokey as hell, we should watch some Quentin Tarantino movies, those are real movies."

In burst Peppy, holding onto several six-packs of Cornarian brew. "I heard you kids talkin' bout movies and I'm sure as hell going to watch some movies!"

Falco quickly pulls pulls out a copy of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, two of Tarantino's earliest films. "Yeah! We've got beer and Quentin!" Falco shouts.

Peppy hands out one six-pack to Falco, one to Fox, and then another one he splits in half and gives the right half to Krystal, keeping the left half to himself.l. "T-This is a good bit of beer, and I've never drunk any, and I- Um…" She stutters.

Fox smiles at her, winking. "Aw, it's just a little bit of alcohol. Not even enough to get you even a little bit tipsy, Cornarian Brew is pretty watered down stuff."

Krystal's worried, looking over at Fox. "Are you sure? I don't know the drinking age, and as a priestess I'm supposed to-" She starts to talk, but Falco cuts her off.

"Now we're gonna have some fun!" He throws the movies to Slippy. The frog then cues them up, and the beginning scene starts. Fox pops open one of the bottles, and Falco follows suit.

Krystal looks down at the bottle full of fluid, mulling it over. She opens up the bottle, and downs a quick swig. It's bitter, and the taste is odd. Against her better judgement, she puts back another taste, and she feels just the smallest bit woozy, but also a little bit warm. "Who cares, it's just a harmless drink, they water it down, Fox said so." She says, grimacing.

Fox chugs down one bottle quickly, and takes another. At this point Krystal's not even paying attention to the movie, as she's become fascinated by the way Fox's tail wags to-and-fro. She's got a rosy tint to her cheeks now, and she can't help but laugh at when the robber gets what was coming to him, and the rest of the team look at her weirdly. "Whyssa' all you looking at me weird?" She gets up, but her legs betray her and she falls down onto Fox. He yips, surprised.

"Godz, help me geedz ub…" She slurs, now obviously extremely drunk.

"Krystal? Baby, are you okay?"

"I jus' need some elp up, thas' awwl-" She lopsidedly smiles.

"Krystal, you're drunk, really drunk. Here, Krys, I'll help you up." He helps her stand up, and she puts her arm around his shoulders. She sleepily blinks, and realizes what she's done.

"Oh godz I'm drung… Godz forgib me, oh Fogx I'm zo sorry!" She mewls, incoherently babbling.

"Please, Krystal, it's okay, it happens to everyone." Fox whispers.

"Bud I'b zinnned! I'ama prieztess an' I'm nod zubbosed to drink!" Krystal whimpers.

She covers her face with her free hand, ashamed.

"Krystal, it's okay. You need to go to bed, or take a nap."

"Could ya' sleeb in it adz well?"

Falco shouts from the room that Fox was just in. "Hey, Fox, come on back! they're cutting off his ear!"

"Sorry Falco, but Krystal's drunk, and I've got to get her settled down." Fox yells back.

Krystal's shoulders slump, and she feels ashamed for bothering to interrupt Fox's time with his best friends. Even though she was sure they were going to marry, it still felt wrong for him to go out of his way to comfort and take care of her. "Fog, am I a- a- Letdown? I'mb not very good, I shoub jus' be a good vigzen and sid down and hab kits." She whimpers.

"Krystal, why are you acting so… So… Why are you acting like I own you sometimes?"

"Becush you do, a'm jus a bitch who you gotta tend to zometimes…"

He hugs her tightly, and comforts her. "Krystal, you are not just some 'bitch'-" He whispers the word. "You're the vixen I want to spend the rest of my life with, someone I love. Stop degrading yourself like that, please."

She drops her head onto his shoulder, whining loudly. "Juz… I'm subbozed ta- ta-"

"Just shut up!" Fox roars.

Krystal shrinks back, her face showing just how terrified she is. "Are ya gonna hitz me? I din mean to make you mad, Fog, I didn't!" She starts to shudder in fear, shielding her face.

"Krystal, I'd never hurt you, really. I'm mad at whoever made you think these stupid things!"

"Don'd talk about Cerinia dat way!" She whimpers.

"Krystal, it's wrong, you are as much a person as I am. Even more! I'm a scarred old veteran, and you're a stunningly beautiful young vixen with a future ahead of her! I'm already stuck on fighting, but you aren't!" He starts to whimper. "I- I- I don't want you to get hurt…" He grabs her close, and just holds her there.

"Fox, I'b tired. Could you tage me to bed?" She sleepily slurs.

They slowly move to their bedroom, firmly locked in each others arms. By the time the two vulpines reached their room, Krystal had almost fallen asleep, snuggling into Fox's warm, fluffy fur. Fox opens the door, and walks Krystal over to the bed. He lays her down, and she slumps into the bed, already asleep. "G'night, Krystal." He Whispers, leaving the room to finish the movie with the rest of the crew.

He sits back down on the sofa, and look tiredly over at Peppy. "She is so drunk." He sighs.

"Can I unpause the movie now?" Slippy asks, frowning.

Fox glances over at him, and simply gestures.

Slippy immediately cheers up, and unpauses the movie, just in time for the security guard to gag the protagonists. "Aww, yeah. This is one of my absolute favorite parts." Falco says.

They continue to watch the movie, but Fox doesn't enjoy it. A matter of fact, he's still worrying about Krystal, and her drunken words. Does she really think that she's inferior to me just because she's a vixen and I'm a tod? She's so- just- God, I hope that she's just saying that because she's drunk. As the movie finishes, the bloodsoaked finale filled with gunfire and the aftermath of a bank ramage leaves everybody wanting to watch the next film.

"Lets watch another one!" Falco caws, throwing his bottle up into the air and catching it.

Peppy smiles at all of them, and then knowingly looks at Fox. "Fox, go and see if Krystal's doing better. I think it's the best thing to do."

Fox silently thanks Peppy, and walks to the room that Krystals sleeping in. Opening the door, he hears loud groaning and moaning. "Krystal? How're you feeling?"

Krystal lifts her head up, and grits her teeth in pain. "Neraxus, my head hurts so bad…"

She then yipes as a splitting pain stabs into her head. She curls up, hugging the sheets even tighter.

"Aww, Krystal. Poor baby." Fox sits down on the bed, and experimentally starts to scratch the base of her tail. Her left leg kicks and her tongue lawls out of her mouth. As Fox keeps scratching, she makes little squeaking noises, much to his amusement. He chuckles at her, and she smiles back, her relaxed expression thanking him. Fox sneakily reaches his other hand around and slyly pinches her behind.

"Ooooohhhh. Oh yeah." She moans. "Keep scratching, and keep doing whatever you did there."

The good feelings rob her of the pain from her headache, but the alcohol still lances her brain with stabbing feelings every time she moves. "Fox, I'm hungry." She groans, and attempts to get up, but what feels like a red-hot rivet rams into her head, and she falls back onto the back with a yipe.

"Krystal, just stay there. I'll get you something to eat." Fox says, giving Krystals supple bottom another pinch.

"Stop squeezing my rear, Fox and please get me something…" She groans.

He walks to the kitchen, and opens up the fridge. As he's doing so, Falco goes past, and says something that Fox can't understand. He shrugs it off, deciding it was probably just an insult. Typical Falco. He grabs several dumbledang fruits and a gallon of milk. He trudges back to Krystal and his' room, stepping over to the bed and placing the three dumbledangs on the pillow beside her.

"Thanks…" She weakly says. "Fox, I've got such a bad headache…" She slowly eats the food, dribbling juice on her pillow as she eats. Fox hands her the gallon of milk, and she says a small prayer before downing the whole gallon.

He waits until she's done eating and drinking to tell her why she has such a bad headache.

"Krystal, you're hungover. It's what happens when you've drunk too much the last night."

She lets out a little mewl, disheartened. "I knew I shouldn't have drank so much… It's a sin for a priestess to drink…"

"Well, I'll remember that. It's okay though, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It usually lasts about a day. Even less if you sleep it off." Fox encouragingly says.

"Foxy-Woxie, what time is it?"

"It's about nine AM, Krysie."

"Keep calling me that, Foxy, I like it." She yawns. "could you go to bed with me?"

"Sure, Krysie." He coos, and climbs into bed, wrapping his arms around her. He pulls the sheet up around them, and Krystal starts to nod off to sleep, purring with content. He soons falls asleep as well, hugging her close.

* * *

"Peppy, I want to stay close with Fox, but he's just too bunched up with Krystal." Falco says, sounding sincere for once.

"Falco, my boy, Fox and Krystal are very close, an' have you been paying attention to their conversations?"

"Uhhh… Not really."

"They're going to get married, Falco."

Falco steps back, surprised. "I didn't know they'd gotten that serious that quickly. Last I remember, Fox would still get nervous when Krystal was in the room!"

Peppy laughs, smiling fatherly. "You're wakin' up, Falco."

"How'd it go so fast… Katt and I've hardly gotten past the dating bit." Falco sits down on the floor, realizing how little he's been paying attention to everything else in the world.

"They're pretty serious about it. They sleep in the same bed, give each other doe eyes whenever they're around each other, and all and all they remind me of Fox's parents."

"God, I need to stop thinking about myself so much."

"You've been much nicer to Krystal, I realize that. I've got to thank you for giving her pointers, even when she'd quite obviously hated you after you- attacked her."

"I'm with Katt, I'm with all of my old academy friends, but I'm just not happy. What am I doing wrong?" Falco says to himself.

"It's too early to have an existential crisis, Falco. That's for old codgers like me."

"But Peppy, when I was watching the movies, it was like they weren't anything, just shapes, not real."

"Falco, you don't have any real substance in your life, just the thrill of the job and looking forward to a night with Katt."

"I'm an asshole, Peppy. Don't deny it, Fox has thought about kicking me off the team multiple times."

"He once confided in me that he once thought about kicking Krystal off the team because she was just so innocent and sweet, and he didn't want her to awake, sweat-drenched in the night screaming because of her experiences." Peppy took his glasses off and cleaned them on his jacket, then put them back on.

"He- He really thought about doing that? At first I just thought he let her onto the team because she mated with him or some shit like that, not because she was actually a good pilot."

"Well, people can be wrong. I thought the same thing, what with her get-up, and her tryin' to be so close to Fox all the time. I guess I was wrong too."

"I was so… Fuck!" He yells. "Fucking fucker!" He slams his head against the wall.

"Don't bash your brain in, Falco!" Peppy says, stopping him from hitting his head anymore.

"I need to apologize, Peppy. I need to do something." He snaps his fingers, grinning. "I'll propose to Katt when I see her next!"

* * *

Fox puts his pillow over his ears, trying to block out the loud banging coming from outside. Krystal yells very loudly; "STOP IT YOU BLOODY IDIOT!" She sits up, frowning. Fox notices she's completely in the buff, not that he minds. She stomps over to the door, and opens it. She yells as loud as she can, barking; "I SAID T' BLOODY STOP, IN TURPON'S NAME!" All noise halts, and she closes the door, satisfied with the effects of her yelling. "I fink I'm awake now, Fox." She says, her eyes glinting in the low light.

"Yeah, that's good…" Fox mumbles, drifting off to sleep again.

"My Foxy-Woxie isn't going to sleep, he's going to meditate with his Krysie-Vixen."

"Wuh?" Fox lifts his head up, looking her over.

"Well, you can't meditate if you're like that." She pads over and presses herself against him, rubbing her cold nose against his chest.

"Uahh!" Fox squeaks, shooting straight up.

"Now," She smiles. "You'll need to disrobe to be able to channel the energy of the gods and goddesses. You're lucky, the only way to do this is if one of us is a priest or priestess."

Fox, still waking up, takes off his clothes, yawning loudly. He sits down on the floor, scratching the back of his neck. Krystal takes him by the hand, leading him to the crystal by her side of the bed. She pulls him down onto the floor, embracing him as she whispers a chant. She wraps her legs around his back, pulling him even closer to her. An aura of purple lights begin to gather, cloaking the couple in celestial glimmer. "Fox, Fox, oh Fox…" Krystal moans, the pair's eyes starting to glow with a blueish tinge.

"Huh? Ah!" Fox yelps, and instinctively tries to wriggle away, but Krystal keeps him firmly imprisoned. "I told you we're not mating until we get married!"

"Nakx kxo fenoh adlojkot ad mo, A adlebo kxo wetj udt wettojjoj ke vehm u redt roknood ij." Krystal drones, her eyes starting to roll back into her head. "A celo 0ei, Fox…" A wind blows, ruffling her hair, and she passes out. She goes completely limp, her grip on Fox failing.

"Krystal? Krystal?" Fox whines, scared.

She remains still for a few more moments. "Fox…" She smiles. "I love you so much." Tears of joy run from her eyes, and a mental bolt alights. Fox kisses her, but she breaks away. "Fox, we can connect our minds more clearly now, I performed the Ritual of Iudex, God of the mind. I know other rituals too, including one for lovers…" She grins mischievously at him.

"Krystal, you had me so worried."

"Foxie…" She shuts her eyes, relishing his warmth. "I'm look forward to when we get married, it'll be so wonderful, bonded by the gods and goddesses with the tod you love." She licks him repeatedly on the cheek, chirping in his ear.

"Krystal, lets go to bed. For the final time this night, or else we won't be in shape for the job we've got tomorrow." Fox sweeps her up in his strong, well muscled arms, and she giggles ecstatically. Fox lays her onto the bed, exciting her. She feels very warm, but she bites her lip and holds it back. Fox jumps onto the bed as well, curling up with her. The two fall asleep, ensconced in the sheets.


	14. Atrocity & New Life

Falco, Krystal, and Slippy stand out in the hangar, listening to every word their leader told them. Fox was giving them more specifics on exactly what they were to do. Falco stands at a comfortable slouch, and Krystal at the resolute stance expected of a mercenary. Slippy stands the shortest among them, fiddling with a bomb, not exactly the smartest thing to do, but Slippy's the trusted engineer among the team. Peppy acts as the flight controller, giving the all clear when it's time to launch.

"Remember, don't bite off more than you can chew. The number one cause of death in mercenary work is trying to show off." Fox barks, exuding an aura of leadership.

"Sure, sure." Falco says.

"Y-Yeah, Fox." Slippy stutters.

"Definitely, captain." Krystal says, still standing at attention.

They all sprint to their respective ships, climbing in. They wait for the launch signal, Fox impatiently gripping the flightstick.

Peppys voice crackles through their headsets, telling them that it's time to launch. "Alright, all members of Starfox, be ready to lauch, testing, testing. Sign off and launch, Red 1, blue 2, Vix 3, and Green 4." The arwing's thrusters roar, and they blast off into the black sea of space.

"Alright, team. We talked about this mission, go in, bomb the hell out of em' and get out. Understand?"

"Understood." Krystal yips.

"Got it, Fox." Falco says.

"U-Uh… Yeah, Fox, I understand." Slippy croaks.

"Good, we want to be completely prepared for this mission."

Krystal looks through the cockpit over at her wingmates, wondering what challenges they'll encounter. She looks back to the flight radar. Only Fox, Slippy, and Falco show up. _That's good. No bogies yet._ As the four fly, the large metal mass of the pirate station starts to show up, an eyesore on the stars. As they approach, the distinctive whine of enemy fighters pierces the silence.

Fox peels off towards the fighters, and Falco follows close behind. Krystal pairs up with Slippy, barrel-rolling away from the high caliber turrets planted seemingly at random across the surface of the space station. "Krystal, c-cover me! I'm going in to bomb hangar when it opens!" Slippy yells. He breaks away for the hangar, and Krystal zooms along behind him.

"I'm on you, Slippy! Keep on going!" Krystal says. As they get closer to the hangar, a flood of enemy fighters come out, each with their guns blazing furiously. Slippys fighter is peppered with fire, sparks and bullets pinging of the armor of it. But through the hailstorm of death, he manages to pull it off, shooting the bomb straight through the open blast doors of the hangar bay. The explosion envelopes the hangar, killing anybody unfortunate to be in the blast, thus ensuring that no more fighters emerge from it.

"Fox, the hangar's destroyed!" Krystal says, shooting off several bursts at the burning hangar.

"Good, now we've got to finish off the rest of the pirates." Fox says triumphantly.

* * *

Cheslav kisses his wife goodbye, holding her close. "Misha, my rose, stay in your room with Nikita. I don't want her to be scared." He whispers.

"I know, Cheslav…" She whines. She hugs her husband tightly. "I love you, Ches. I never want you to leave me and Nikita. She's just a pup, and we both want you to be there."

"Misha, you are the light of my life, myдорогой. I will protect you from everything."

Another explosion wracks the station, and the two wolves almost topple over, but they hold each other up.

"Now go, be with Nikita." Cheslav chokes out, his eyes wet with tears.

"I will. I hope that we will meet in the Forever, муж." They hold close for a second before breaking away.

* * *

Fox fires a bomb at the crumbling hulk of metal, soon to be a large heap of space junk. "We're almost done with this, just a few more shots and-" Krystal fires several bombs in rapid succession, whooping wildly.

"Gods, I'm having way to much fun than I should, what with blowing up a space station and all." She growls, slightly displeased with herself.

"It's just the thrill of the hunt, that's what people call it." Fox replies.

"Hardly a hunt, more like harpooning a whale as it slowly dies." She says.

"Well, it's a target, and it's pirates, so…" Fox starts, but the station exploding violently shakes his train of thought away from what he was about to say. Metal chunks fly off of the dying behemoth, oil and coolant spilling from it like the blood of a corpse. "Team, fly circles around it. Make sure nothing escapes."

"Roger." Falco caws.

"On it." Krystal says, sounding shaken.

"Going a-around." Slippy says.

As Krystal patrols the wreckage of the station, she feels oddly uncomfortable. _Why do I feel so… Bad? I didn't do anything, just destroyed a pocket of pirates, and it just seems so- Wrong._ Something hits the cockpit of her ship, and she looks around for what it might be. When she sees it, she lets out a blood curdling scream, horrified at the sight she's beholden to. "Oh no oh no please no oh no oh gods no please no... " She whimpers, not paying any mind to the frantic chatter of her wingmen. She looks back at it, that horrible sight. It's a female wolf, holding her still-young pup close, blank eyes piercing Krystals soul. The pup is bent at an unnatural angle, it's frail body broken at the middle. "Oh gods, C-Cerinia…" Krystal whimpers. A statteco of images from the destruction of her homeworld flash before her eyes, the mother an child appearing to her as her own mother, cradling a bloodied lump in her cold arms. Krystal screams again, before collapsing back into the seat of the Arwing sobbing. "Iss' all gone…" She cries. "All gone…" Fox's panicked barks and yips go unnoticed as sobbing overtakes her, and she's unable to think of anything but the destruction of her world, the trauma drilling into her brain with unperturbed force.

"Krystal, this is Fox! Answer, copy?" He barks into the headset. Another shriek from her makes his ears lay down flat, the amount of pain coming from their connection almost unbearable. "Krystal, respond!" Fox yells. He looks down at his radar, and notices her ship speeding away and back towards The Great Fox. She's not responding to any of their messages, even when Fox, almost in tears with worry, whimpers to her. The whimpering reminds her of how her brother died, bleeding out slowly on his bed, mewling deliriously for his wife, shot to death by the same soldiers that ambushed him. When Slippy attempts to talk to her on her flight, his rather squeaky and childlike voice brings back memories of a stray artillery shell destroying her house and all of her childhood belongings. Every second brings back yet another horrible memory, the sirens blaring, the forests burning, the smell of burnt fur and blood fresh in her nose. She flies away, trying to escape

* * *

Peppy looks up from the jazz magazine he's reading, noticing the single arwing returning, it's flight pattern far from straight. As it lands, he listens in to the comms on the arwing that's returning, vix 3. He picks up sobbing, and Krystal comforting herself. She's repeating the same thing to herself over and over again. "They're gone. They're gone. Oh gods and goddesses they're gone…"

Krystal presses the button to open the arwing's cockpit, her shaking hands impeding her progress. She gets out, hugging herself tightly, shuddering like a lone, wind buffeted tree. She looks up at the control station where Peppy is, seeing the chair empty. Sitting down, she cradles her head in her hands, waiting for the nightmare to be over.

Peppy rushes over to her, and tips her head up towards his, concerned with what happened, wondering if his fears are realized. "Krystal, are you okay?" He says to her. "It's going to be fine, Krystal."

"No… It's all gone…" She says, her normally lively voice drained of all life. She tries to bury her face back in her hands, but Peppy's encouraging words keep her up. "Peppy, there was a bomb, and a woman- a-and a pup and it was dead! We killed it! I killed it! I killed them all!" She screams, tears pouring anew from her already damp eyes.

"You need to calm down and tell me what happened, is Fox okay?" Peppy hurriedly asks.

"He's fine, but the- The... " Her uncontrollable cries stop her from explaining any further.

Fox's arwing pulls into the hangar suddenly, slowing down to a stop beside Krystal's arwing. He pops open the cockpit and jumps out, running over to Krystal. He embraces the tear-soaked vixen, hugging her tightly as she rides out her emotional rollercoaster. "Fox… Fox…" She cries.

"Krystal, are you scared? Sad? Angry? What's wrong?" He soothes her.

"A- A pup and it's mother." Her eyes get a far away look in them, and she digs her claws into Fox's shoulderblades, obviously wanting to be close to him. When she's comfortably nested as close to him as is possible, she opens up to him "I saw a dead she-wolf and her pup, and the pup was bent in half, and it scared me so much, and then there was Cerinia, and it was like my mother!" As she's about to tell yet another traumatizing experience, Fox kisses her. It surprises her, and as they kiss, Falco and Slippy's arwings land in the hangar. Both get out, and Falco calls to Fox.

"Fox, it isn't your bedroom, leave that out of your job." He says.

Krystal grabs him closer in their kiss, quite obviously not wanting to let go of him. _Fox, I want to stay like this forever._

 _Krystal, I've got to let go sometime, I've got a job to do._

Her expression turns to that of happiness and contentment to one of anger. _I'm part of your job too, remember. I want you!_ She unclasps herself from Fox, parting the kiss. "I'm going to go and train with my staff, Fox. I'm just going to cool off, innit?"

"Okay, remember to just call if you need me, I'll be nearby." He says, a concerned look spreading across his visage.

Krystal limps out of the hangar, every slow step making her silently curse Fox for his ferocity during mating. She ambles down and through several longish hallways until she gets to the gym area, about the size of a large living room, with weights and any exercise machine you could wish for. But in the left corner of the room, there's a locker containing her staff, Fox's knife collection, and Slippys wrench. She steps over to the locker, walking past the treadmill and weight lifting benches. She opens it up, taking out her staff. Once taken out, it begins to glow, the psychic connection with it growing. She smiles, the staff carrying all sorts of good memories, from seeing Fox for the first time, as he saved her from a painful death, to all those training sessions with her mother and father, and the ritual of becoming a young woman. All of it is intertwined in this staff, a record that only those with Cerinian connections can access. She flips over to the punching bags, and takes a swipe at one of them. The force of the staff bashing into it sends the red bag clumsily bumping around, even then she takes extreme precaution, treating it like a beast at bay. As it swings back and forth, Krystal jabs it, psychic force bursting outwards from the staff's impact point. It sends the punching hurtling from it's bonds, and across the room, smashing into the wall.

"Aw, neraxus-damned punching bag!" She barks at it, turning on her heel to put back the staff. She wonders why she got so tired so quickly, and she looks down at her stomach. It looks slightly rounded, contrasting with her regularly well muscled and toned body. She pinches it, dissatisfied to find a little more fat than meets the eye. After a couple more seconds of studying it, she gasps. "Oh goddesses… Oh, thank the goddesses!" She puts away the staff and sets about to gathering every single bit of Cerinian clothing and items from Fox and hers' bedroom. As soon as she's gathered everything, she walks carefully to the kitchen, gingerly taking each step. gently shooing Slippy out.

Fox stands in the hallway, wracking his brain for some way to help Krystal. He can't even imagine losing his whole planet, and this was after she unloaded everything about her planet to him. His train of thought is interrupted by Krystal touching on the shoulder lightly. She's smiling and her tail is wagging. She's wearing a much less revealing Cerinian outfit, more like a dress, though it still shows off her stomach quite proudly, a gold trim sewn around it, almost as if drawing attention to it. "Krystal!" He yips happily. "So, what's going on?"

"Fox, come to the kitchen. I need some help with something." She says, trying to tone her voice down, but the telltale excitement is too hard to not show. "Oh, to neraxus with subtlety. Fox, c'mere." He follows her to the kitchen, where a humongous cake, decorated with runes on the sides and what appears to be copies of the tattoos on Krystal's arm and thighs on the top. All and all, it's an amazing cake, and it reminds Fox of the cakes his mother used to bake for his father. "Sit down, Fox, m0 muko. You'll like the cake." She smiles at him again, her eyes glinting in the light. He sits down, looking hungrily at the cake. He mock-whines, and Krystal laughs.

"Am I going to have to eat this with my bare hands?" Fox says, whining.

"Oh, you'll get a fork as soon as I find one, Foxy-Woxie." She sorts through the spoons, the hordes of knives, and finally finds a fork. She pads over to Fox and hands it to him. He's about to dig in, but Krystal stops him. "Fox, I've got to tell you something first." She bites her lip, biding her time to explain to him. "Fox, I- I'm pregnant."

Fox had sneakily taken a bite of the cake, but he spits it out, spewing a mix of crumbs and spit all over the table. Quickly, Krystal shields the cake, stopping any of Fox's projectile-spat cake bits from hitting it. "You're what?" He smiles widely.

"I'm pregnant, Fox. Thought you'd see this coming." She giggles. "You mated with me two times, and one of those times I was in heat." She looks at him, a little worried that he'll be unhappy. "Oh, Fox, what do 'ya think of the cake? How is it? I made it with a special ingredient." She gets a devilish grin spreading across her face.

"The cake's delicious, Krystal!" Fox yips. "What's the special ingredient?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Just the milk of vixen kindness." She says. "I'm glad you like it."

Fox looks down at the cake suspiciously, and swallows his bite. "I'm not unhappy, Krystal. I'm just surprised."

"Really?" She says.

"Really, Krystal. I love the idea of kits, but I don't know if I'm ready…"

"Fox, you'll be a wonderful father to our kits, all three of them."

"There are three of them?"

"Have you ever been in any other relationships, Fox? How much do you know about vixens?"

Fox sighs, and leans his head against the headrest of the chair he's sitting in. "I've only had two vixens I was in a relationship with. One of them was Fara, but I- Alienated her after my dad died. Then there was Miyu… She's not a vixen, but God, was she an amazing lynx. That's it, Krystal."

"Fox… Did you ever- Mate with them?" She dreads the response, but can tell that Fox is being completely truthful with her.

"I never mated with Fara, I was too shy, and she was too scared. I thought that we were going to finally get off the ground, maybe buy a wedding ring, something like that, and then… Well, dad died, and it sent me on a self destructive spiral. It was year later that I met Miyu on a mission, we instantly had a connection, and we mated almost every night that month. Then we realized that there wasn't anything deeper there than bodily attraction. She's lesbian now, going strong with someone she knew from academy. Think her name's Fay, or something like that. But Krystal, I love you now, and forever."

"Oh Fox…" She purrs as he inches out of his chair, nuzzling against her slightly swollen stomach.

"I've got a great idea. We can take pictures of it each day to document the horrible sizes it gets to!" He yips playfully, pressing his ear against it. "Ooohh… I can hear something, Krystal!"

Her stomach rumbles.

"I'm hungry, Fox." She burbles.

"We can share the cake that you made, Krys."

"Fox, that's the Cerinian cake of fertility, to bring both you and me many, many more kits in the years to come. We're going to get married soon, aren't we? I've checked our shared account, and we've got enough credits to live happily for the rest of our lives. And Fox…" She reaches into her dress. "I've got this for you." She takes out a beautiful topaz embedded ring and slips it slyly on Fox's right ring finger. "It's your ring, Fox."

"I've got something for you too, Krystal." He reaches into his flight jacket, pulling out a small box. "Open it, Krys." She puts out her hand and opens it. Inside is the most beautiful ring she's ever seen, encrusted by blue and and orange gemstones.

"Oh gods and goddesses, Fox! It's beautiful! How much did this cost?" She barks happily.

"That doesn't need to worry you, Krys. All that matters is that you're happy."

"Fox, what with the rings, the cake, and the kits… You keep me sane." She hugs him, playfully biting his ear. He squeaks, and Krystal purrs.

"We've got to get to eating that cake, Krystal, it's not going to eat itself, and especially since your eating for four now!" He laughs.

The two eat the entire cake, nuzzling and cuddling in between bites. "Fox, what'll their names be?"

He sits back. "I think we'll name two of them James and Mcoy, and if they're girls, you get to decide. And the other we'll both get to decide on."

She squeaks in excitement, and thinks for a moment. "For the girls, how about Sapphire and Amethyst? For the boy, How about… Topaz?" She smiles wide.

Fox takes a bite of cake, and licks her on the nose. "I love that name, it has a ring to it."

She laughs, and licks the frosting off her nose.

"I love you so much, Fox." She purrs.

"I love you too, Krystal. Now, on kits, where do you want to settle down?"

"Well, I'm thinking of maybe… Papatoon? If you want to, we can live on Corneria. Friends are close, and it's nice there." She nuzzles Fox. "But since you're the father, you get to decide."

"Let's settle on Corneria, and Papatoon will have a vacation home on it. How about that?"

"That sounds wonderful, Fox."

As they eat, a phone alarm buzzes loudly, but they don't pay attention to them. They're too busy thinking of what they'll do after everything with kits, and marriage, and such things that need to be well planned out.


	15. Innocent Betrayal

The day went along regularly, until Peppy got a call. "This is Peppy." Peppy says as he picks up the phone.

"Herkin here. A talk with a friend on some private matters."

"Sure, Herkin, what is it?"

"That vixen Krystal is a thorn in our side. She's a threat to Corneria."

"Krystal? She's the sweetest vixen in the Lylat system!"

"Psychic powers? Rumors of summoning creatures. We don't like things we don't understand. Things that could harm us."

"Heaven-and-God. What are you going to do?"

"We will take her out of the equation. Quickly, and silently."

"Herkin, you don't have to do this."

"Sorry, Peppy, but orders-" He chuckles. "-Are orders, and I make the orders." He hangs up.

"Dammit." Peppy whispers. He sits down, and runs his fingers through his fur. Fox comes in, a smile emblazoned across his face. He looks just about ready to burst with joy.

"Peppy, I've got something really important to tell." Fox yips.

"What is it, Fox?" Peppy says, trying to sound happy.

"Krystal's pregnant!" He yells joyously. "I'll go get her." As Fox walks out of the room, a sinking feeling starts to grow in Peppys chest. He wonders if he should tell Fox and Krystal, or keep with his loyalties and stay true to the Cornerian government. Krystal walks in, hugging Fox around the waist.

"Peppy, I'm with kits!" She squeals excitedly. "We're going to get married! And- And-" She pants. Then she just leans on Fox, tired.

"She's really, really happy, Peppy. When she has the kits, will you be the godfather? I mean, it's the closest thing they'll have to a grandparent. You're always so sweet and understanding, Peppy." Fox hugs Krystal to him tightly. She purrs loudly, and Fox smiles even wider.

"We're going to mate every night of the week, Fox…." She whispers, making him blush all over.

"Krystal!" He growls, embarrassed.

"But Foxxx…." She whines, pouting.

"Okay, but please don't mention it in front of everybody."

"How can I help it when you're so…" She shudders. "...So good at it?"

"Krystal." Fox says firmly.

"Oh, all right." She harrumphs. The two embrace again, Fox nipping playfully at her neck. She giggles, and licks him on the tip of the muzzle. He laughs at her antics. Peppy looks at the pair, and reflects on his call. His ears droop, and both the vulpines notice that he seems a little down. "Peppy? Are you okay?" Krystal whimpers.

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm just a little… Nervous."

"I understand, what with our job and all. It's stressful." She wags her tail. "I hope that you feel better, Peppy."

"Thanks, Krystal." Peppy tries to smile again.

"Can we do anything, Peppy? I can give you some meditation tips." She says softly.

"I could use that…" He trails off.

"I'll just send it to your mind psychically." She closes her eyes and concentrates, sending the thoughts. As she sends them, she gets a terrifying other feeling, and she stumbles backwards. She quickly steadies herself, recovering as she finishes sending the thought. Her mouth curls into a snarl as she sees that thought even clearer, something about a man named Herkin, and a plan to kill her.

"Krystal?" Peppy says.

"I thought that you wouldn't let my Fox or me get hurt…" She says, her eyes still closed.

"Krystal...?" Fox says, confused.

Her eyes pop open, and she snarls. "There are people coming to kill me! Someone named Herkin said he wanted me dead!" She says. And then she turns to Peppy, her lip trembling. "And Peppy, why'd you do it? I loved you like a father! And you want me dead as well? Well, then BURN IN NERAXUS! If any harm comes to me, my kits, or Fox, there'll be the wrath of the gods and goddesses to pay. I'll kill anybody that wants to hurt me! -or Fox!" She yells vehemently, looking to Fox for help.

"Peppy, is she telling the truth?" Fox says, his voice at a whisper.

"No, she's not even talking about anything I know about." Peppy says.

"He lying! Don't believe 'im! He wants assassins to kill me! Please believe me, Fox…" She whimpers, looking up at Fox, the look in her eyes absolutely heartbreaking.

"Fox, when vixens get pregnant, they get paranoid. Your mother was the same way when she was pregnant with you." Peppy says.

"That's not what dad said. He said she was happy and laughing, and not at all paranoid." Fox growls.

"Fox! Fo-Fox!" Krystal chokes out, hiccuping.

I don't know who to trust... Fox thinks.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about." Peppy says, annoyed.

Krystal starts to sob, her whole body shaking and shuddering. Fox looks over at Peppy, wondering what Krystal's seeing in his mind, judging by her reaction. "I don't want to die!" Krystal mewls, looking up to Fox for help and protection.

"Krystal, I d- I- " He stutters, just confused and hurt with what she's saying. Herkin and Peppy plotting, assassins, it all seems to break the mold of the sweet, fatherly person he knows Peppy as.

"Fox, I want you to- to- protect me and your kits. They're yours, too. Please…" She whines.

He wipes away the glistening tears from her eyes and brings her up to his level, snuggling the vixen close. "Now, Peppy, what the hell is this about? You're upsetting my to-be-vixen, and I just want to know what's going on." He growls.

"She probably just listening into the voices in her head. Both of you might just be bunked in the brai-"

"SHUT UP!" Krystal rasps.

"If you're saying she's somehow mentally unfit, you need to rethink what you're saying. Now tell us the truth."

"I'm not obligated to under Cornerian laws." Peppy says firmly.

Fox sighs. "Fuck the laws, Peppy, this is my Goddamn wife we're talking about!" He roars.

Krystal shields her stomach from the world, hoping and praying to all the gods and goddesses that her kits will be saved somehow. "I just want to have my kits and be with Fox… Can't they see that?" She mewls.

"Look, Peppy, it's you loyalty, or your- your-" Fox breathes in raggedly. "Your life."

"Fox, you aren't thinking right." Peppy says, edging away from him.

"I'm thinking right. You need to think right. If you even try to get her killed, I'll bring hell on You and Herkin. Now, if you decide to make the right choice, I'll be lenient with you. I'll forgive you, but I won't count on Krystal viewing you the same way. Peppy, her planet's dead. Her parents are dead. She loved you like a father. She's just not going to be the same after this. I wish you hadn't done it." He looks back at Krystal, and she looks at him pitifully, urging him to come to her. He puts his hand up, signalling for her to wait. "Peppy, will you… Help us- Stay safe? I know, you could be our inside man. If you take me up on that, you'll be clean in my eyes." Krystal sniffles and hugs Fox tightly.

"I'll help you, Fox. I can't feel right without helping you. I'm sorry about all this, Fox." Peppy says.

"Thank you, Peppy." Fox leans into Krystal's hug.

"Fox…" She says. "I want to go somewhere else…" She then grasps onto his tail.

"Krystal, Peppy's agreed to help us." He says, almost smiling.

"I want you to take me somewhere safe, where they can't hurt us..." She whispers to him.

"Okay, Krystal." He soothes. He brings her up with him, holding her around the waist. "Peppy, all is forgiven. We're going on a vacation." He pauses "And you better not tell Herkin about this. We're going for Krystals sake."

"Could we go to Sauria?"

"We can do that, Krysie."

"Thank you, Fox." She sighs.

"Slippy!" Fox called out.

The sound of Slippy's footsteps echoed down the hallway. He rounded a corner and came to them. "What do you want to ask about, Fox? Is the navi system acting up?"

"No, Slippy, I was thinking we should go to Sauria. We're all pretty stressed, and I think we should go and have some off-time."

Slippy looks at Krystal huddled against Fox. She did look stressed. "Sure, I'll set up the navi computers on course for Sauria." He walks to the control room, whistling the tune of some video game theme.

"You can let go now, Krystal." Fox says.

"But I don't want to…" She whines.

"Okay." They hold each other for a while, until Slippy comes back and informs them that the computer is set and they are on course to Sauria.

"Fox, Krystal, tell Peppy that we're headed towards Sauria. I'll tell Falco myself." He croaks, smiling at the two. Krystal seems to have cheered up a bit, no longer grasping Fox so tightly. He prys her off of him gently, getting her up off the floor. He kisses her on the muzzle, and she loses herself in his eyes.

"They'll be beautiful, like me, and strong, like you…" She murmurs to him.

"Kits again, Krystal?" He manages a grin. "I love you, Krysie."

"A celo yie…" She responds, and kisses him on the muzzle. He returns her affections roughly, his lips against hers, and she moans into the kiss. Soon, the sounds of the couples wet kiss can be heard from a room away, and Slippy is annoyed by the sound of what he thinks is some kind of cooling leak. Krystal breathes in heavily, letting his pheromones into her sinuses. To her, Fox's lips are like a wave against the shore. A steady, warm, comforting wave.

Fox is the one who moves out of the kiss, taking in a few breaths before diving back in, a string of saliva joining them. Oh Fox oh Fox oh Fox! She thinks desperately, the mind poison of the thoughts of Peppy betraying her, only pretending to act as though he loved her like a daughter as only a father could, just to be able to give information to people who would kill her. She knew she was about to cry, and but not there, out in the open. Still kissing, she leads Fox to to their room, shifting her hips and bringing him close to herself. He walks with her into the room, falling onto the bed along with her. He moves to her, loving her wholeheartedly. As he stops kissing her to be able to say something, she bursts into tears, sobbing loudly. She hugs him close to her, taking him in. With another sad whimper, she buries her head in his chestfur. "What did he do to make me trust him so much?" She wails.

"He's not going to hurt you, or anybody, Krystal." Fox soothed.

She felt so distraught. She was hungry, and angry, and sad. Sad for Peppy, sad for Fox, sad for herself. "I know… But I can't trust him anymore!"

He sighs. "It'll be fine, Krystal."

"O-Okay." She pulls him closer, and they fall into a fit of passion, not caring what happens next, simply making love desperately. They were joined at the hips, recklessly mating. Krystal suddenly feels an immense pain inside of her, like something had ripped. "UUAHH- FACKING- GODESSES 'ELL!" She curses. She pushes Fox off of her, and grits her teeth, focusing on keeping the pain at an acceptable level.

Fox wonders why she'd done that, and then he notices small drops of blood on the bedcovers. Oh no He thinks. "Krystal! Are you okay?"

"I'm bleeding from my woman'ood! I'm not okay!" She says.

Then Fox knew exactly what was wrong. "Krystal, it's fine." He says. "Nothing's wrong."

"Have you noticed that I'm bleeding!?"

"Krystal, did it hurt?"

"Yeah…" She whined.

"Uh- That was your barrier breaking."

"My symbol of virginity?" She startles. She was a priestess, and this was a huge event anyways!

"Ah- Um- Oh-" He garbles. "Yeah?" He bared for what he thought was coming, instead of a squealing vixen smothering him with hugs and kisses.

"It hurt, but now I'm a real vixen! Thank you, Fox! Thank you!" She yipped. After that, they mated happily. They were like animals, and when they finished, it was like the calm after a storm.

"Are you feeling any better, Krystal?" Fox asks.

"I feel-" She pants. "-A little better. But now it's kind of hard for me to you know- walk and use my legs after we mate, especially with my thing broke. It like, really bloody hurts. So don't go so rough at it, okay?"

"Okay, I'm sorry if I've- Oh, shit." Fox says.

"What is it?"

"Fff… You're pregnant, you should be laid up in bed with a book or taking a nap or something. I mean, I'm sorry if you feel bad. I don't know how to treat a pregnant vixen-"

Krystal laughs tiredly, and pats Fox on the head. "You've been good to me, Fox. I'll get all tucked in and up if you think I need it. By the way, could you get me some food or something? I'm hungry after mating and…" She sighs in remembered pleasure. "-I'm also eating for four, so could I have some?"

Fox gets up from his position on the bed, and stretches. He then pulls on a shirt and pants, not wanting to walk around in the nude. "Be back in a bit- With food, of course. Anything else I can get you?"

She snuggles into her blankets, and smiles at Fox. "Just for my orange tod to get back and cuddle with me more." On that note, Fox steps out of the room.


End file.
